A New Era: Meetings of Mystical and Deadly
by Ashishu
Summary: WarcraftSoul Calibur fic. Nightmare and Arthas join blades against the world. Sophitia, Taki, and a secret SC characters go to the north to find the races to help them confront their undead foes. Shoujoai, don't like it, don't read it. Chap. 15 up :
1. Empty Souls Meet

Ah yep, here we are again in the sequel to 'When a Savior is Saved'. I hope you like this one, I really hope you do :) I'll try to describe the Warcraft III characters the best that I can without rambling.

Do not own SC characters or Warcraft III characters.

"..." Speaking

'...' Thoughts

_Italic_ Siegfried's conscience.

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Chapter 1: Empty Souls Meet

(Prologue)

Nightmare stood within the streets of the town he crumbled in his hand and bodies of those that fell to his knees and the will and bloodlust of his living, soul-stealing, pumping weapon. Below him lies a corpse of a man he severed and sacrificed to his weapon. He eyes still portrayed horror as they stared lifelessly onto the cobblestone path he fell upon. Nightmare looked stared at the corpse for a few seconds, grinned widely, and with narrowed eyes he cast his view to the blood-covered town as it slowly fell into ashes beneath the houses burning roofs.

"Heh heh, a work of art." Nightmare spoke to himself as he gazed at the dozens of corpses as they flayed across the streets and the tips of the flames twitched in his eyes.

'Another town demolished... I do hope the spirits of these people will be freed, for both their and my sake.' Nightmare ignored the voice of his weaker half within him.

"Work of art indeed." A man with a rather dark and forceful tone spoke behind him. Nightmare turned to find a man up to his neck with dark wide armor that's finely etched along his arm, shin and high-length shoulder guards, complete with a long black cape. His long snowy white hair draped over his face covering his pale skin and deep, icy green eyes that observed the city as it slowly falls into ruin.

'Eh? I missed one? And a well-aged one at that... how could I have missed him?' Nightmare's eyes widened underneath his helmet as he stared at his confronter who's fierce gaze swept to him and gave a small, menacing smile with lowered eyebrows. Nightmare raised an eyebrow. 'Humph! No matter, my thirst may be quenched... for now... but might as well drink another soul as it wanders so easily into my mist.' He raised his giant sword over his shoulder as he turned to face the aged yet well-armored man.

"You are quite easy to follow; just look for a trail of ash and blood. That used to be my trademark." The intruder stated simply. Nightmare was confused by this man's words.

'The demon doesn't seem to sense the evil aroma this strange man emits.'

"What are you talking about, human? You must be one of the many... heroes..." Nightmare chuckled at all his confronters failed attempts. "Who's trying to kill me and either be praised for destroying evil or use my beloved sword as a trophy." Nightmare chuckled once again as he stared right back into the elderly man's eyes. Nightmare's eyes narrowed as he watched his confronter burst into laughter.

"You obviously don't know who I am or perhaps even the weapon that I wield." The man's grin faded slightly as his eyes became more serious. "Have you ever seen the fires of Hell?" He raised an eyebrow, eager for the Azure Knight's response.

Nightmare grinned evilly as his eyes narrowed at his confronter and chuckled. "I am the fires of Hell!"

'And I'm chained at the gates...'

Nightmare raised an eyebrow as his confronter grinned widely with narrowed eyes. 'He looks pleased... why? Humph, must be some sort of self-righteous fool.' Nightmare swung his sword once and pointed it right at his confronter. "Why are you here human? Besides sacrificing your life so willingly."

The man slowly came forward, hearing the rhythmic sound of the metal of his wide boots hitting and scraping against the cobblestone road. The wind that swept passed opened his cape, exposing that his chest plate had a large skull on the stomach area. "I'm here to offer you a chance to power, to kingdom, one thing a knight such as yourself never received. I rule over a legion, one that no other mortal has ever seen. It is one that came about for the purpose of ridding the world of weak mortals and imbeciles of peace-making kings and replacing it with a new order... a true order... a darker order." The man spoke proudly as he smiled rather excitedly at Nightmare, who seemed unmoved.

"Your advertisements don't interest me, nor do they make sense coming from you." Nightmare spoke plainly as he drove his blade into the ground and crossed his arms over his chest.

The man's face turned serious. "But I'm offering you a chance to be the next to me in battle, for the only reason that your blades demonic power can work with mine and together can help the new order to surface. You'll be greatly awarded for your code of chivalry and trusting in my command." He grinned.

Nightmare's eyes widened. "YOUR COMMAND?" He boomed. "You believe that I... Nightmare... the one who has slain many and destroyed cities to be under even anyone's command? Preposterous! Your sword, one the size of all the heroes' weapons who strengthened my sword and weakened their honor by confronting me, can't even begin to match the power within Soul Edge!"

The man chuckled loudly. Nightmare was beginning to get annoyed with this human's constant confidence. "We shall see... won't we?" He unsheathed his sword from his belt and pointed the tip at the opening for the eyes of Nightmare's helmet. Nightmare pulled back as he felt his weaker half hidden within him gasp at the amount of evil this sword emitted.

The sword had a long bronze hilt that had a large thorn at each end and the blade's edges were wide and ridged as well as black as iron, while its middle section was gold. Near the hilt two smaller points of the blade, which also was made out of gold, came outward and pointed in the direction of the blade's tip. In the center of the two points was a small ram skull with eye sockets that emitted a strange blue light.

Nightmare stared in awe at the strangely made weapon; he had never seen a blade constructed so differently, much less the powerfully evil aura and strange glowing eyes of the ram's skull.

"I can sense your bewilderment and eagerness of proper experience and I must say... I'm flattered." He chuckled at his mocking tone as he kept his sword's tip close to Nightmare's face.

"Who are you? What is that blade?" Nightmare's eyes shot towards the pale man's face. He pulled his sword away from Nightmare and pointed its tip towards the sky as he gazed at it.

"This is the sword that has granted me dark power, command and kingship over the dark legion, that has slain the many imbeciles of mortals who've stood against me or even tried to run away from me and my wrath. This..." He smiled fondly at his beloved blade. "This is Frostmourne." He swung his blade. "And I..." He stopped as he drove his blade into the ground and looked up at Nightmare with a wide grin. "Am Arthas. King Arthas."

Arthas stared at Nightmare as he laid one armored hand on the top of his blade's hilt. "Will you join me in ridding the world of mortals and establishing the new order?" Arthas raised an eyebrow.

Nightmare narrowed his eyes. "I thirst for souls, not new orders." He stated plainly.

"And you will get your souls, thousands. You can do the dirty work for us, not that I don't love a good, bloody, painful killing every now and then. My acolytes will be more than happy to serve you in building you a base, and I'll find a lich for you to find your way around to many..." Arthas leaned forward and spoke in a deep tone as if his suggestions seemed appetizing. "Many... highly populated towns and villages." He let out a hand to the suspicious Nightmare. "Well? Will you join me? My demons will be greatly pleased."

Nightmare just stared at Arthas' opened hand as if he thought that touching it would vanquish his demon-self. He looked up suspiciously. "You want something in return, do you not?"

Arthas raised an eyebrow. "Your trust in both me, the legion, and the beliefs of the new order, as well as the power of corruption within your blade. I can corrupt a few lands myself, but I've heard that your blade corrupted nearly half the world. That kind of expansion I'd so love to see." Nightmare's expression remained unchanged. "Do we have a deal? Souls for expansion?" Arthas grinned excitedly.

Nightmare just stared at him aimlessly. He didn't fully trust him, but what kind of a man who carries a sword as dark and mystical as that and wished for the demon blade of another, how and why would he commit treachery against him? And the sound of his acolytes working beneath him did sound interesting. Although he wasn't really sure of how a lich, a corpse, would help him, but might as well see what this legion had in store.

Nightmare cautiously let out a hand and shook Arthus' in agreement. "Let me see this legion your so fond of." Nightmare raised an eyebrow as Arthas grinned widely and darkly.

"I thought you'd never ask." He turned behind him and faced the opposite complex streets as he sheathed Frostmourne. "Kel'Thuzad! Bring out the meat wagons! There are more than plenty of corpses to collect!" He shouted to the empty streets.

"Meat wagons?" Nightmare questioned.

"They hold corpses and we use them to either break down buildings and trees, as well as feed our... warriors." Arthas raised an eyebrow as he smiled. Nightmare watched as three catapults came into view, being led by five cloaked figures having their eyes be the only thing visible and a pale, thin man finely dressed in purple robes, he actually appeared to be floating. The closer the thin man came to them, the more Nightmare noticed was amiss.

"A... a skeleton?" Nightmare raised an eyebrow.

"A lich, to be precise." The skeleton corrected simply, which made Nightmare pull back even more in surprise. His voice sounded like a normal person's voice; it was deep but with a slight raspy sound to it.

"What magic is this?" Nightmare turned to Arthas, who seemed unchanged.

"We are a cult of the damned, there is more dark magic surrounding this legion than you would think." The lich spoke simply as he raised a hand to the acolytes and meat wagons for emphasis. Nightmare took a closer look to this lich and noticed that an icy-blue-like smoke slowly drifted out of its mouth and eyes. Kel'Thuzad turned to Arthas. "Well, I would like to see the humans try to stand up to us now that we have the Soul Edge." He stated as he observed the fully armored knight before him.

"Yes, indeed it would certainly be amusing to watch the human drop one by one before us. Kel'Thuzad, make sure that he is given a lich to serve him while he is within our grounds at Stratholme." Arthas turned to Nightmare, who seemed bewildered as he watched the acolytes gather the bodies and stack them in the meat wagons, which already had dried blood covering most of the outside of the wagon.

"Where is this Stratholme?" Nightmare questioned curiously.

"In the north, far north." Kel'Thuzad answered.

"And... this... is the legion?" Nightmare looked over to the five acolytes and three meat wagons with eyes that clearly said that he was expecting something more impressive. He heard Kel'Thuzad chuckle.

"Oh no no, you'll know the legion when you see it. Welcome to the Scourge, Azure Knight."

(End Prologue)

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"You little rogue!" Sophitia giggled as she felt Taki's fingertips tease her side as they walked down the white-pebble path to the sea that she wanted to show Taki. Taki laid a hand on her chest and took a look of surprise.

"I'm not a rogue! And by the way, you call me that now?" Taki grinned. "You know I've done worse things." She raised an eyebrow.

Sophitia even blushed at some of the memories that passed in her head. "Yes I know quite well. Things like whenever we're in front of my parents at the table and you sat next to me you'd have the tendency to play with my knuckles with your fingertips, and when you'd happen to sit across from me you'd tickle my shin with your toe." She smiled, then sighed. "I'm just happy you didn't do that as much when I was engaged to Rothion. That would've been difficult." She admitted as she ran a hand through her hair.

Taki looked down. "Oh yeah, him. That was awkward, I wished you'd told me about him before we came here." Taki could remember the feeling of her heart shattering within her when she found out about their engagement. In all honesty, she really didn't have much against him; he was sweet and caring to Sophitia, but there was only so much she could take when being near them when they were together.

The hugging she could take, the kisses on the cheek she could take, she could even take the fact that they slept in the same bed, but... it was when he kissed her lips, when he would say 'I love you' and Sophitia would have no choice but to say the same to him that she couldn't take it. She understood that Sophitia couldn't help it, but it just felt like someone was grabbing her heart, squeezing and twisting it within its cage.

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot because I was still so struck when I had found you, or when you found me, in Spain." Sophitia's head lowered as she sighed again.

"What made him change his mind about you? What made him call the wedding off?" Taki asked with a raised eyebrow. Sophitia blushed slightly.

"Remember what happened that one evening at the town center and the large fountain? When you and I were trying to act as if the whole marriage topic was okay for the both of us?"

Taki looked up to the skies as she tried to recall the memory:

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Taki sat on the outer edges of the concrete fountain that had a tallCorinthian columnin the center. Gazing deeply into the water, passed the ripples shemade using her fingertips as she caressed the waters surface. 'Why must this happen to me now?' Taki thoughtto herself in a saddened tone.

"Taki?" The sweet voice that she loved to hear spoke from a small distancebehind her. She turned to find Sophitia standing there nervously, her head slightly lowered and her hands clasping each other in front of her. "Are... are you alright?" She asked in a higher tone than usual, showing her tentativness.

Taki turned back to the water and continued to stare at her reflection. "I'm fine." She stated simply.

"You don't sound it." Sophitia slowly came forward. Taki paused for a moment in her stillness.

"Do you love him?"The Asian suddenly asked, makingSophitia pull back slightly and felt her eyes soften. That wasn't a fair question andshe knew Taki knew that.

'I can't say no and I can't say yes. If I say no then she'll start attacking me with questions saying why I'm marrying him in the first place, and if I say yes then it would break her heart, tearing mine as well. I don't want to hurt her, she loves me, and I...' Sophitia slowly gripped her shirt over her heart and she briefly closed her eyes.

The longer the Greek took to answer, the more Taki took it as a rejection towards her."I see..." Sophitia's eyes snapped open as she heard Taki's slightly depressed voice as her mahogany gaze moved to the concrete edge. "Perhaps I'm just in the way. Maybe you'd live a safer... happier life with him than you could with me. He offers you a stable life... while I..." Her gaze swept to her reflection and stared at it for several seconds before her gaze softened as she looked away as if she wasn't pleased with it at all.

"Maybe I..."The older womanstood herself up from the edge but continued to look down. "Maybe I should leave you two be and go. I don't deserve a woman as talented, gentle, intelligent or beautiful as you anyway." She turned to Sophitia with a soft gaze, who just watched and listened with a look that showed both amazement and disbelief at the way Taki soundedhow she described her. "I don't deserve a goddess like you when I have nothing to offer. So, I'll just tell you that I do love you and I will always want to please you and be with you always. But for you and... your betrothed's sake, I'll just keep all in here and never let go." Taki placed her fingertips over her heart. Her eyes widened as she noticed that Sophitia's eyes were becoming moist as she stared back at her as if her own heart had been broken. "Sophitia...?"

Taki's eyes widened even more as Sophitia suddenly ran towards her and lunged at her. The force pushed Taki off balance and so they both fell into the fountain with a loud splash. Taki leaned on her elbows so that she could stay above the surface as she felt Sophitia lift herself to just leaning on the heel of her palms but still remaining in the fountain and upon her.The huntresslooked up to the half drenched woman on above her, she wouldn't move, she could see the tears that slowly streamed down the younger woman's face.

"No Taki, please don't leave me again. The only reason I agreed to marry Rothion was because I didn't think I'd ever see you again." Sophitia's voice had a desperate tone to it as she looked straight into those deep almond eyes she loved so much. "You think you can't offer me anything well you're wrong; you've given me love, faith and happiness, things I never thought I'd ever get as strongly as you've given. Please stay... I want you to stay with me... always." Sophitia's voice turned soft.

Taki watched as Sophitia moved towards her through the water and gently pushed her back until she was against the pillar. She felt the younger woman wrap her arms around her waist and pressed her body against her. Even through the cold water she could feel the warmth of Sophitia's body.

"I do love you too." Sophitia smiled softly and when Taki grinned in return she kissed her with all the love she could show and give to her. Taki ran a hand through her damp hair while the other was placed on her hip, pulling her closer...

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"Oh... yeah... I remember that." Taki stated as her gaze softened at the memory.

"Well, Rothion kind of walked in on that one." Sophitia noted softly. Taki sharply turned to her wide-eyed.

"Did he?" Taki spoke quickly as if she was rather embarrassed about that.

"Yeah, he said that he could already tell that I was in love with you by the way I always looked at you. He said that at first he wasn't sure if it was love or just a strong friendship." Sophitia looked out to the sea as they came closer to it, as well as the many small houses lined up near the shore.

"I guess he got an idea when he saw us." Taki smiled as Sophitia chuckled slightly.

"I suppose so." Sophitia glanced over to her love's direction and noticed that Taki did the same. Taki smirked as she reached out and took Sophitia's hand within her own and let her thumb rub softly against the back of her hand.

Sophitia smiled as she looked over to Taki and entwined her fingers with her own. Taki smiled softy in return as she brought up Sophitia's hand and kissed it gently.The younger girlwatched and smiled as she did so.

"So what was it about this sea that you wanted to show me?" Taki asked as she kissed her hand again then let their clasped hands drop to their sides.

"You came to Europe through the Atlantic sea, you haven't seen the Aegean Sea yet." Sophitia spoke simply as she continued to feel Taki's skin with her thumb.

"Why do you want me to see it, may I ask?" Taki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, just because I want to show you as much as I can." Sophitia stated with a smirk.

"I see." Taki smiled as she glanced at her. She turned to one of the small houses as they passed them and noticed that one was actually a small market full of jewelry. 'Oh, maybe I can give her something for all she has done for me since I came.' Taki thought as she looked over to Sophitia with a sneaky grin, which Sophitia didn't notice because she was so focused on the sea ahead. 'But I have to get it without her knowing.' "Sophitia." Taki addressed her nonchalantly and she looked down.

"Yes?" Sophitia turned to her with raised eyebrows.

"Do you mind if I pick up some steel polish for my blades? You can go on ahead, I'll only be a minute." Taki hoped this would work.

"Oh-uh sure. I'll be just over the hills." Sophitia pointed over to the high hills of grass that ended with jagged ridges of rock and miles of sand behind them.

"Alright. I won't be long, I promise." Taki assured as she ran over to the market. When she got there, she waited until Sophitia was far enough so that she couldn't see what she was doing. She turned at looked at the dozens of metal jewelry before her. 'She deserves the best, but which one?' Taki thought to herself as she searched.

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"I'm not surprised." Sophitia chuckled to herself as she leaned against one of the rock-like hills and let her feet dig into the white sand. The miles of beach was completely deserted and she liked it that way, at least when Taki's around. Sophitia sighed as she listened to the waves as they crashed against the shore.

Her thoughts were thrown to one side as she felt a sudden rumbling beneath her feet. She looked down to find the grains of sand sifting at the rumbling continued. 'The ground's shaking?' Sophitia's eyebrows lowered with confusion.

Suddenly the sand appeared to lift into the air and began to take up a strange form of something or someone. The more Sophitia watched as the sand took up a form, the more she recognized it. The shape was of a strongly build man with curly hair and beard and held a sword and shield and grew to be about two feet taller than her.

"Hephaestus." Sophitia addressed softly as she felt the rumbling stop.

"Hello again, my sentinel." He spoke in his deep, echoing voice.

"Are you here to send me on another quest?" She asked as she stood up straight as thoughfor the purpose of looking presentablefor the god before her.

"This mission surpasses all others apart fromSoul Edge. You must go after Soul Edge again and there is a second sword that you must dispose of. These two have joined as one and have planned to lead an army. The name of the second weapon is Frostmourne." He informed broadly in his stout form.

Sophitia could feel her heart stopping. "It's back? Again? I must go after that cursed blade again? And by myself?" 'It was so difficult the first time sinceI was travellingalone. The reward of knowing that I actually completed my quest was all that I needed by the end.' Sophitia recollected thoughfully.

He seemed to chuckle. "Even I wouldn't do that to my skilled,belovedsentinel. You must head north, to a place called Ashenvale. There is a race there that will help you gather forces in defeating the army. They are familiar with Frostmourne so they will serve as a great aid to your cause."

Sophitia tried not to raise and eyebrow at the towering figure. "A... 'race'? What do you mean by that Hephaestus?"

The sandy figure paused. "I'll only tell you the name of the woman within that race you should look for and nothing more; her name is Tyrande Whisperwind."

'Whisperwind? Hm, that's a new name.' Sophitia thought to herself. Her gaze rose as she remembered an important topic. "Can Taki come with me?" She asked with a hopeful eye.

He seemed to just look down at her for a moment. "It makes no difference to me who you bring. Some races within the north can be somewhat hostile. I'm not one who would allow a foreigner to assist a sentinel of mine. But, it would be in your best interest to have someone with you to fight along side you."

Sophitia beamed. "Oh, thank you Hephaestus. You won't regret it, I promise Taki and I won't fail you." She clasped her hands together as she bowed slightly to her mighty smith god.

"I know you won't, I trust your word." He said as he turned and Sophitia watched as his sandy form melted down into the ground. Sophitia sighed as she placed her hand over her heart.

"I'd do the most impossible mission as long as Taki's with me." She smiled as she closed her eyes and thought of her love.

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Taki was heading down to meet with Sophitia with her gift in hand. She took another look at the beautiful ring she bought for her. It was a medium-sized silver band with several wavy etches around it and an aquamarine jewel that was the width of the band and brought itself out as the center of attention.

"I hope she likes it. I think aquamarine is her birthstone too."The ebony-haired woman liftedthe ring high so that she would watchit catch the sun's light in a gleam. "I'm going to make this a 'promise' ring for us, so that I can really showmylovefor her."She spoke to herself then smiled fondly at it before sheplaced it within her money bag just for safe keeping for the time being.

By the shore, she stopped as she noticed the Greek with hereyes closed.Having anidea, she grinned as she sneaked up behind her and tapped her shoulder twice. Whenthe slightly shorter girlturned around, Taki wrapped her arms around her love's waist and pulled her into a soft, sweet and tender kiss.

Sophitia's eyes widened in surprise then slowlyclosed them and smiled as she leaned against Taki as much as she could considering that the other woman wasbending her lightly backward. Tenderlywrapping her arms around the taller woman's neck, shefelt her tied-upebony hair and instantly loved its softness. 'I love it when she does this; it feels like time stops just for this, just for us, so that we can enjoy it to the fullest.' She sighed softly as she felt Taki's lips move against her own.

When they finally pulled apart, Taki smileddown at her fondlyas she ran a hand up and down her back. Sophitia smiled in return, then looked down briefly.

"Taki... Hephaestus visited me again." She stated simply as she look back up to Taki, who raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Taki looked up briefly, Sophitia could tell she was trying to find her god. "What did he tell you?"

"We have to go to the north to Ashenvale." Sophitia's face suddenly became serious. "Soul Edge is back and has joined another force. We have to find a race in Ashenvale who'll help us against it." She stated as she let her fingers run along Taki'sjet blackhair.

Taki's eyes widened at the news, then took in a breath as she seemed to shift her position. "Oh, well, at least we're going to have some help. I figured Soul Edge would want to come back eventually, its greed can easily consume others, only making it stronger." She sighed. "I guess we have to leave as soon as possible?"

"I'm afraid so." Sophitia let her head fall on Taki's chest and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being held so close to her.

"I know, I'm annoyed by all this too." Taki assured as she kissed the top of Sophitia's head and let her hand run through the soft blonde hair. She heard Sophitia sigh, feeling her warm breath caressing her upper chest, she closed her eyes to take in the feeling. "But at least we know two good things besides the extra help."

"Oh really?And what wouldthat be?" Sophitia asked as she laid her head on Taki's shoulder and held her tighter.

"One; we'll be together and Soul Edge will be destroyed again." Taki stated confidently thenpaused, waiting for Sophitia to speak.

Sophitia smiled at Taki's first good thing. "And the second?"

Taki grinned. "Hephaestus didn't see you almost completely naked this time."Her grin widenedas Sophitia's head shot up with an expression of stunned surprisewhile wide smilebroke outacross her ownface.

"Taki!" She pushed her back playfully as she laughed. Taki couldn't help butsnigger herself. She slowly came forward, taking Sophitia's chin with her fingers and briefly yet tenderly kissed her lips.

"Hey, you being my love, I have to make sure than no one, not even the gods take advantage of you."The older womanspoke softly, then kissed Sophitia's smiling lips again but for a longer period. She felt Sophitia pull her into a warm hug and felt her head lay on her shoulder again.Taki looked to the skies. 'Oh, great, this isn't really the best time to give Sophitia her ring. I want it to be a special place and time, very special so that it can be easily remembered as the fondest memory. I'll have to wait until I find one. But might as enjoy this moment as long as I can.' Taki let her head fall gently on Sophitia's as she kissed her forehead softly.

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Wow. (Wipes the sweat off her forehead) I've never written a chapter this long before, the others might be just as long so might as well get used to it ;) I hope I portrayed Arthas well enough. He'll have more of an anger management problem in later chapters. I enjoyed writing this one and I hope you enjoyed reading it :) It's going to take me a little if not a lot longer to write these chapters what with school, homework and whatnot.

For those of you who haven't played Warcraft, I know that the appearance of Kel'Thuzad may be a bit out there and the basic purpose of meat wagons might seen brutal and crude but hey, it adds more to the story and it was in the game.

To Witch-Hunter 51: Thank you for your review on my epilogue and thank you even more for thinking so highly of my creativity. I greatly appreciate the confidence in my writing :)

To El loco: I always give a reviewer a reason why I would or wouldn't use a suggested character, so I guess I care more for the reviewers than others ;P You flatter me beyond words of proper expression for your approval of my work. Let me know if you want a specific Warcraft character in my fanfic, I'll let you know if I can or can't wedge him/her in :)


	2. Misconceptions

This one might seem a little dull to some, I'm sorry if it is. Do not own SC or Warcraft characters.

As a note to all those who read my fanfic and are a bit hazy about shoujo-ai, I'm sorry but I'm going to continue writing it, I love writing it and I'm in no way making fun of Taki and Sophitia. I've made two other fanfics concerning them both as being in love and this fanfic is a sequel to one of them. I just find shoujo-ai easier and sweeter to write, there will be male/female couples within this fic as well so don't think that this whole story is girl-love. I hope you don't have a big problem with that I just hope you enjoy my story for its storyline and how I make the strengths of the relationships in the couple settings.

No Flames on this subject please. You saw the 'Shoujo-ai' warning in the summary, it was your own fault for reading it if you don't like it.

Enjoy :)

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Chapter 2: Misconceptions

The travel to the north was quite uneventful for Taki and Sophitia. Sure there'd be a few bandits and aimless killers along the road, but most were unskilled and that bored them both, Taki most of all.

"Well, I hope this... Whisperwind person can help us against an army. What a strange name." Taki noted as she folded her arms behind her head and looked to the side at the mass of trees that they passed.

"We'll soon find out if she's worth her weight in battle strategies and blades." Sophitia commented.

She carried nothing but a small bag of money and the medium-sized swords on her back. Sophitia held a brown bag filled with whatever provisions they might need as well as a rag just to polish off her sword and shield from dirt and blood. Taki didn't know how she could carry provisions with the extra armor that she placed in as well.

"Where did you say this person lives?" Taki asked, not turning her head.

"Erm... I think it was called Ashenvale. Ever heard of it?" Sophitia turned to her.

"Nope. You?"

"Uh no." Sophitia spoke simply. "We're getting close though, to the northern part of the world anyway. We've been traveling on foot for... what? Three months now?"

"Yeah." Taki sighed as she stretched her back. "We should reach there any day now, wherever it is."

"I hope it's as soon as you say, these endless trees are starting to get to me. Maybe we should pick up a map of this place." Sophitia suggested.

"Pick up a map where? I haven't seen a soul in these woods for days." Taki raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we're bound to run into a soul sometime." Sophitia returned the raised eyebrow as well as a small smile. "I'm just glad my mother packed just enough provisions for us, I'm surprised that we've made it this far."

"I don't think she was very thrilled when you and Rothion called off the marriage, least of all ending up with me." Taki noted as she looked down.

"She's getting used to having you around, it just takes time. When you came back from Spain with me, she actually asked me if you were the reason that I had seemed to become more flexible than I was before." Sophitia noted simply as she ruffled her hair a bit with her hand.

Taki's jaw dropped within her closed lips then couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Sophitia turned sharply to Taki, wide-eyed.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it _that_ way. I'm sure she meant it because you are a ninja!" Sophitia defended, or at least tried to. Taki still giggled uncontrollably.

"Oh yeah, and who knows? She might have meant it both ways." Taki spoke in between giggles.

"It's not funny!" Sophitia slapped Taki's upper arm, although couldn't help but show a smile at Taki's rather comical reaction. Taki tried to stop herself by biting her lip, and her laughter slowly ceased. Taki rubbed her with her hand as she looked to the side.

"_Ahem._ Sorry... couldn't help myself." Taki smiled as she turned to Sophitia.

"Yes, I'm sure." Sophitia smirked as she raised an eyebrow. She caught Taki glancing her way then quickly turned back, making her smile at Taki's hint of modesty. She let out a hand, taking Taki's shoulder and stopping her so than she could slowly come closer to the taller woman, taking her chin within her fingertips and pressing her lips gently against Taki's. Taki's eyes remained open until she did so; staring into the adventurine eyes that stared back into hers until she felt the touch of her lips. Sophitia slowly pulled away in a rather torturing manner and met Taki's soft brown gaze.

"What was that for, may I ask? Sneaky kisses are usually my job." Taki grinned as she raised an eyebrow. Sophitia smiled as she looked down at her boots and slowly rubbed her nape.

"Oh, no reason..." Taki watched as Sophitia walked a few steps in from of her. Sophitia spun around to look at her, letting her hair flay about her shoulders and back and making Taki do nothing but stare in awe as her golden hair and adventurine eyes glistened in the speckled sunlight that dripped through the open patches between the thick trees' leaves. "I just couldn't resist." Taki felt like she was blown away when she heard Sophitia speak in a rather cute yet suggestive tone as she placed her hands behind her back and wrapped one foot behind her other ankle and cocked her head slightly to one side, giving her a cute, modest-looking pose.

'Wow...' Taki's mind whispered in a state of surprise excitedly as she slowly came towards her and reached out for Sophitia's nape and gently pulled her closer for a longer, deeper kiss. She gazed at the younger woman's beautiful smile as she felt Sophitia's arms being wrapped around her pulling her closer when they heard a loud 'clang' of metal against metal and a scream. The sound made them stop and turn to the direction of the sounds, seeing two bodies move between the trees. One was larger than the other and by the looks of it held a giant axe.

Sophitia sighed as she looked down disappointedly while Taki ground her teeth and looked to the sky in annoyance. 'Oh Kami, what impeccable timing you have on ruining perfect moments.' Taki thought rage fully as she clenched her fist, until she felt it being held gently by her loves' hand. She looked down to Sophitia's wonderfully green gaze.

"Don't fret Taki, perhaps we'll have more time later." Sophitia spoke softly as she stroked her thumb along Taki's knuckles and kissed them twice, making them relax beneath her hand. Taki closed her eyes briefly and breathed in deeply to relax herself then looked down at the blonde woman in her arms, then nodded.

"I suppose, lets see what we're up against." Taki sighed as she released Sophitia from her arms and turned to the two battling ahead. The shorter of the two she found familiar, but it was difficult to tell because of the distance and the fury the person showed.

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"Ha ha ha ha, scream for me!" The abomination with milk-white eyes boomed at his puny female opponent.

"Not before I make your death cry echo within these woods Astaroth!" The woman shouted bravely back as she readied herself as well as her Zanbatou before the brute. A whistle from someone to the side of them stopped the two.

"Eh?" Astaroth turned only to be struck hard in the head with a round shield. He grunted as he nearly stumbled off his feet.

"Sorry." Sophitia spoke although it didn't sound like a real apology. Astaroth only had time to balance himself before he was elbowed in the gut then punched upwards in the jaw b a flash of red and black, he could feel his jaw breaking and could taste the blood in his mouth, but that didn't bother him. The last blow he felt from the flash was a hard kick in the chest, in his exposed, pumping heart.

"I'm not." Taki spoke in an 'as a matter of fact' like tone as she went into a guarding position and watched as he fell to the ground.

He felt his back hit the ground, but quickly rolled backwards and came to his feet again. He held his giant axe higher as his eyes narrowed at the two intruders before him.

"Oh yes! More blood to spill, more souls to take within my hands, thank you for volunteering ladies; not very many puny humans such as yourselves give up their lives so easily." He spoke with a chuckle as he glared at the two before him. He raised his mighty axe and slammed it down into the ground, making it shake a bit, then raised it again for another blow towards them.

The two watched as he swung it horizontally at them. Taki ducked while Sophitia stopping it with her shield and using all her weight against the force. Taki took the advantage of his slowness in recovering and jumped completely over his head and, when positioned behind him, she struck him with her medium sword rising upwards along his spinal cord.

Astaroth howled with pain as he looked at Taki with a death glare as he thrusted the handle of his axe right into her gut with such force that it lifted her from the ground completely. Taki groaned as she hit the ground, feeling the air forced out of her, it was difficult for her to even stand without her legs feeling shaky.

Sophitia's eyes widened at the state of pain Taki appeared to be in, then narrowed as she turned to Astaroth. "How dare you? Mercy is something a grant to whoever deserves it, but you, who murders many to please his master and hurts someone I love, I'll grant you my wrath." She stated simply before she ran forward, jumped into the air and thrust her blade into his stomach then ripped it upwards, letting the blood spill tirelessly along his torso and her boots and spots on her legs and fists. Astaroth's head bent back as he roared to the skies in pure agony.

"Did you forget someone?" The other woman jumped behind him and whacked the bottom of her Zanbatou hard against the side of his head. The three heard a horrible crack from his neck as he plunged to the ground, hitting it with a loud 'thud'. His body lay motionless with his blood spilling upon the grass below him, his eyes remaining open.

The woman stood up as she brushed her brown bangs out of her eyes, then turned to Sophitia. "Thanks." She smiled faintly.

"No problem. Ugh! Happy to help." Taki walked over to the two the best that she could despite the pain that she felt in her abs, which she held with one hand. He voice was a bit husky because of the fact that she was still trying to properly reclaim the air that she had lost. "Seung Mina, am I correct?" Taki asked as she watched Sophitia come to her in haste and wrapped her arm around her waist, trying to help her stand.

The woman nodded. "How did you know?" She lowered her eyebrows in confusion.

"I've seen and heard of you in Japan, the Korean runaway?"

Mina raised an eyebrow. "Yeah that would be me. But enough about that, I saw a child being threatened by Astaroth for some reason, have you seen her?" Sophitia and Taki looked at each other. They were about to say no when they heard a rustle in the bushes.

"That might answer our question." Sophitia spoke as Mina walked over to the bush. She pushed the branches out of the way only to have a child tumble out. Mina smiled at the little girl who seemed no older than nine, but then turned to surprise when she took a closer look at the child's features when she looked up.

Sophitia gasped slightly when she noticed that the girls' skin was a color of a lavender-like purple and her long straight hair, which had green maple leaves within it, was like a turquoise to dark aqua color, her long ears pointing backwards and seemed to reach just behind her head. The part of her that startled them the most was her eyes; her pupil, which was usually black, glowed in a star-like manner, white with a blue tint. Her iris was a beautiful dark blue that shone out a bit due to the light that her pupil was giving off. On her forehead were two symmetrical purple marks that stretched in a horizontal curve.

The girl's eyes portrayed fright, then they narrowed as she pulled up her baggy animal fur-like clothing. "Stay away from me human!" She shouted at Mina, who just continued to stare.

Sophitia felt sorry for the strange girl, not because of the way she looked, but because of the fear that she tried to hide. She slowly left Taki, just to make sure she wouldn't collapse, then went over to the girl and knelt down showing a face of patience and kindness. "Hi." Sophitia started softly. "What's your name?"

The girl remained speechless for a moment, until she gasped as she grabbed her knee and held it tightly to her chest. Sophitia was curious by this. "Can I see?" She reached out her hand to the girl's knee.

"No!" The girl protested as she held it tighter and looked at Sophitia with anger.

"Why not?" Sophitia cocked her head to one side.

"Because you'll just hurt me like that other big man tried to. All you humans are the same!"

Sophitia blinked as she smiled warmly at the girl. "Well, one thing is, that man wasn't human. And secondly, not all humans are bad. Do I look like I would hurt a child such as yourself, or do they look like they would?" Sophitia pointed at Mina and Taki with her thumb. The girl looked at the two for a moment then back to Sophitia. She looked at her for a moment.

"I still don't trust humans, I never will, not after what they've done to my race and the lands of Ashenvale." The girl spoke softly, still showing a face of suspicion. Sophitia's head shot up.

"Did you just say Ashenvale? Is that your home?" Sophitia questioned with raised eyebrows. The girl simply nodded. Sophitia thought for a moment before she came closer. "Can I see your leg now? I promise I won't hurt you, I may be one of the humans you hate so much, but I would never hurt someone without a good reason." Sophitia assured. The girl paused for a moment, her eyes darting between the ground, her knee, and Sophitia. She sighed as she obediently showed Sophitia her knee. There was a long cut along her shin, running horizontally. It bled red blood as it dripped down her bruised shin. Sophitia took the bag from her back and took out a rag. She gently tied it around the girl's wound. "How did you get this?" Sophitia asked as she tied the rage around her leg.

"While I was running from that huge man I tripped on a rock and cut myself." She answered simply as she watched Sophitia heal her the best that she could.

"There." Sophitia straightened the rag a bit before leaning away from the girl's leg.

"Thanks." The girl smiled faintly, but beautifully nonetheless with her star-lit eyes and turquoise hair.

"Could you lead us to Ashenvale, please? We would be doing your home a favor this time." Sophitia asked kindly. The girl paused, this time for a longer period; she looked down for a moment, then slowly looked up.

"Alright, but only because you're different." The girl tried to stand, but only ended up falling again.

"Here, I'll carry you." Mina suggested; she figured it'd be best to have her trust all of them the best that they could. She gave her Zanbatou to Taki to carry for her, Taki decided to put it to good use by leaning on it. The girl seemed a bit uneasy at this, but let the brown haired woman take her up in her arms. Mina lifted the girl into her arms, letting her get comfortable.

"Aessena." The girl spoke faintly.

"Hm?" Sophitia asked. she watched as the girl looked up at her innocently with her star-lit eyes.

"My name is Aessena." She still showed a bit of nervousness in her features. Sophitia smiled warmly as she noticed that she was starting to trust her.

"Pretty name." Sophitia complimented, keeping her smile upon her face. Her smile widened as she noticed the girl blush slightly as she looked away. Taki looked over to Mina.

"So you'll be joining us then?" She raised an eyebrow at the Korean.

"Hey, I found and saved her first, I think I deserve to know what this is all about." She looked down at the girl in her arms, who continued to look down. "Plus I have nothing better to do." She stated plainly. Taki raised an eyebrow, then sighed as she looked down briefly then turned to Sophitia.

"Well? Where to now?" She asked. Sophitia's gaze swept to Aessena, waiting to see if she would tell them. Aessena paused for a moment.

"Do you promise not to hurt anybody when we get there?" She asked suspiciously.

"We promise." Sophitia answered sincerely. She watched as Aessena hesitantly pointed in the same direction as Taki and Sophitia were heading.

"It's a small ways from here, I'll tell you if we're there or not." She assured.

"Alright. Thank you very much, Aessena." Sophitia smiled as her. Aessena hesitated as she looked at her charming smile.

"S-sure." She stuttered as she slowly relaxed herself into Mina's arms. As they began to press forward, Taki came closer and spoke in a low voice.

"Nicely done."

"What?" Sophitia raised an eyebrow.

"How you got that girl to trust us and handled her."

"Well I'm surrounded my children all the time in Greece, I'm pretty much used to it." Sophitia smiled at her. "Plus I enjoy it anyway."

"Surprise surprise." Taki chuckled. Sophitia glared at her with a hint of playfulness and pulled off a cocky fake laugh under her breath, which Taki could clearly hear and couldn't help but giggle to.

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"We've been walking for who knows how long and we haven't seen any sign of life! Are you sure we didn't pass it?" Mina complained as she lifted the now-sleeping girl higher into her arms.

"Yes, I'm sure. I have a feeling that we're getting close." Sophitia noted as she surveyed the area for any sign of what they might be looking for.

"I'm having another feeling." Taki suddenly spoke as she did the same as Sophitia.

"Hmm? Do you think I'm wrong?" Sophitia stopped and sharply turned towards her with a raised eyebrow; a bit surprised as to Taki's disagreeing with her is a rare thing.

"No, it's not that; it's just..." Taki's eyes swept to the treetops. "I feel like we're not alone." She looked back to Sophitia's concerned gaze. "But it might just be me." She spoke in low voice. 'My instincts are never usually wrong; I've just been catching whispers echoing through the trees. But perhaps it's the darkness of the night that's making me unnerved.'

"Did you notice the sparkles in this girl's hair?" Mina spoke as she waited for the two of them to start walking again. She broke Taki from her thoughts. Sophitia turned to see that the strange girl's dark aqua hair did seem to have small sparkles randomly placed around her head as the moonlight shined upon it, making her aqua hair take in a turquoise hue. "Looks like the night sky, doesn't it." Mina noted.

Sophitia nodded as she continued to look at the girl. "I wonder what she is; I mean skin of purple and lavender, dark blue hair and starlit eyes? And I was surprised that when we asked her what she wanted to be she answered that she wanted to grow up to be a huntress." Sophitia raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps she's part of this 'race' we're supposed to be looking for, although I've never seen a race such as what she seems to be." Taki noted as she looked at the blade of Mina's Zanbatou. She noticed some dirt a part of the blade and used the pad of her thumb to scrape it off. Mina turned when she spoke and noticed what she was doing to her weapon.

"Hey! Don't smudge it!" Mina yelled. Taki turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"It's already smudged! What are you worried about? That I'm going to break it!" Taki retorted.

"Do you know how long it took me to bring that blade to the perfection it's in now!" Mina gave Aessena to Sophitia due to the fact that her arms started losing strength from carrying her.

"'Perfection'?" Taki chuckled. "Oh yes, the dirt and blood stains from that oaf Astaroth _really_ bring out its pristine condition." Taki added cockily. "Here." Taki handed Mina's weapon to its owner since she no longer needed to carry it for her. Mina shot out a hand and took it from her in a stubborn fashion. She folded her arms across her chest and held her beloved Zanbatou close to her.

"You couldn't use my weapon properly even if you tried!" Mina's gaze lowered as she spoke. Sophitia sighed; she knew how her Taki was, whenever she got in a fight she wouldn't stop until she got her point across. Normally she would cut in and break the fight, but seeing as to how she was holding a sleeping child in her arms and because this argument didn't seem as if it would break into a real fight, she didn't really see a point to try, she knew it would stop soon anyway. She looked down and was a bit surprised that Aessena wasn't awakened by their arguing.

"I don't think I would need to anyway." Taki started walking ahead of her, then turned sharply as she heard a rustle within the bushes and trees. 'Perhaps just a squirrel or something.'

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" Mina with her lowered gaze and folded arms switched the weight on her legs and cocked her head to one side as if she was interested in Taki's answer. Taki took her gaze from Mina and looked forward as she continued.

"My Rekki-Maru is much more powerful than yours so I wouldn't need your use your stick with a knife anyway-Oof!" Taki stopped as she was pushed forward into a tree and being held there by someone pushing against her back. "Say, Mina..." She winced as her chest was being pushed into the tree. "I notice that you don't like me very much but is this really necessary? I was just kidding you know!" She spoke as she tried to go against the force but could nothing but struggle against it.

"It's not me!" Mina shouted, her voice sounded rather distant to what Taki had expected. Taki's eyebrows lowered in confusion. She looked back the best that she could to find Mina's Zanbatou laid upon the grass while she seemed to be in a very strange position; her arms were held behind her, her back was bending back a bit and her head rose a little higher to the sky as well as being cocked slightly to one side. There was no one behind the both of them, or so it seemed. She could definitely feel a force pressing against her and something gripping her arms and holding them back.

"Erm... Sophitia?" Taki tried to push back against the force with all her strength, only to be harshly pushed back onto the tree. "Love? Do you... feel strange?" She turned to the younger woman.

"Um... kind of." The only things Sophitia could feel was a hand on her shoulder gripping it rather tightly while she felt something sharp against her throat although she couldn't see it.

"_Ishnu-alah_, human." Sophitia heard someone speak softly in her ear from behind. She could feel the person's breath on her cheek. The person behind her moved around to what sounded like a stop in front of her while she still felt the sharp object against her throat.

The person before her slowly became visible, she looked just like Aessena, except of course taller, a different complexion and had purple symmetrical marks that looked like thin, long slashes on her cheeks near her long ears. Her long, wavy, dark aqua hair (that had leaves within it as well) was partly pulled back only to have some strands near her face fall forward. She wore thin armor that covered every place but her stomach, upper chest and arms. She smiled as she narrowed her star-lit eyes at Sophitia, still keeping her long dagger in place upon her neck. "Theta, take Aessena. This is the last time she's ever going to wander off."

Sophitia watched as another who looked like Aessena and their confronter come towards her and take Aessena from her arms. She looked behind their confronters to see that one was holding Taki against the tree while another was holding Mina with a dagger at her neck, which would explain her odd position from before. All were looking at her.

"Why did you try to help this girl? You have no idea where she's from or what she is." The woman stated as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes we do, she's from Ashenvale, which is our destination." Sophitia answered showing no hint of fear, even with a dagger at her throat.

"Your '_destination'_?" The woman spoke with disbelief. "Why do you want to come to our homeland? To destroy it, the three of you?" She, including some of the others, chuckled at the odds of that actually happening.

"No, we ask for the help of someone who lives there; Tyrande Whisperwind." Sophitia watched as the woman raised an eyebrow.

"Tyrande? Outlanders like you need her help? Why?" The woman pressed her blade a little harder against Sophitia's throat.

"There is a great, dark force that has made an alliance with another of our continents. There are two weapons that we are searching for and need to destroy; one is called Soul Edge and the other I believe is called Frostmourne." Sophitia informed as she winced at the feeling of the blade against her throat. She watched as the woman's gaze turned into one of surprise. She slowly lowered her dagger.

"If what this human says is true, if Frostmourne has made an alliance then who knows how quickly he can corrupt our lands as well as the lands of the humans. Should we take the chance and trust them Diana?" The woman named Theta spoke to her leader with concern.

The woman named Diana looked to the ground. "I'm not sure, let's take them to Tyrande and see what she thinks. She can ask these humans herself." She turned to the others who held Taki and Mina. "Release them, but keep a close eye." Her gaze swept to Sophitia who looked a bit relieved. "How did you know about Frostmourne?" She asked with lowered eyebrows.

Sophitia paused; she wasn't sure if it would seem strange to mention her gods to these strange yet obviously devoted women. "Um, I was informed by someone."

"Um-hm." Diana sounded unconvinced. "Well, I won't pry into your business with that 'someone' from these outlands; it's not my place to do so. So I'll just let Tyrande do that for me." She took a few steps in the direction that they were originally heading. "The portal is just a bit further into these forests. That is the only entrance into Ashenvale."

"P-portal?" Mina spoke up with her voice not being the only thing that showed her confusion.

"Where we live is much harder to get to on foot or by sea. We basically live in a different world then you do, we do coexist with your continents, but we are very remote and there are quite a bit of challenges to fight through to get to where we live. Humans like you live there as well, it is said that at the beginning of time, they stumbled upon the entrance to the remote lands of Azeroth and fell in love with the tranquility that it held and remained there. Of course they didn't know what really lurked in the tree, barrens and snowy mountains, but they stayed and made a new empire nonetheless." Diana explained as she walked forward through the thick woods, the others carrying on behind. "Of course how Aessena activated the portal and survived this long I'll never know." She noted.

"We saved her from a brute by the name of Astaroth." Mina noted. All the strange women around them turned to them with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you now?" She spoke in a soft voice as if she was rather touched. "Did you see what she looked like before you saved her?"

"Well, no. But Sophitia and I carried her most of the way here, she's injured but Sophitia wrapped the wound up." Mina stated. Diana's eyebrow rose a bit in surprise.

"Well... thank you." She spoke in a low voice. "I wouldn't think that humans, outsiders even, would help a child that looked strange to them."

"And what are you, may I ask?" Taki asked with a raised eyebrow. Diana slowly turned to her with a small smile on her face and narrowed eyebrows.

"Why we are Night Elves of course." She smiled proudly, of course at that moment the moonlight seemed to gleam down upon her, making her skin, hair, armor and eyes seem to stand out even more than before. Taki, Mina, and Sophitia looked at each other, intrigued that they had met up with elves and even saved one.

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I hope you liked it and I tried to fit in as much information as needed for a second chapter, more will come in the next. And yes, Thrall will be in this fic eventually, as well as Jaina and a few others :) Arthas etc. will show up (separate scene) within the next two chapters. And I'm sorry if the whole 'flexible' conversation got to you.


	3. A Forest Like No Other

I hope you like this one, there's quite a bit more of description in this one than the others. Do not own SC or Warcraft characters unfortunately.

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Chapter 3: A Forest Like No Other

"This is it?" Taki raised an eyebrow at the 'portal entrance' which looked like a stone shrine to her. Long, leafy vines laced themselves along the few steps up to the portal's semi-ruined, black-stoned, pentagonal stage.

The moonlight gleamed through what seemed like the largest opening of treetops within the woods and upon an elevated icon or symbol that was a half-circle with its sharp points pointing to the sky and appeared to be made out of steel by the way it reflected the moonlight upon them. Unlit stone beacons half Taki's height were at each corner of the stage. All had runic symbols running up the front of the beacons while four of the five backs seemed to hold large dark blue gems within them and all had nearly flat bowls filled with what looked like ash upon them.

"Um-hm." Diana nodded. "Normally it's difficult to transport someone from these outer lands to Azeroth, not to mention activating the portal alone, but I as a veteran have a shortcut for that." Diana pulled out what looked like the missing fifth gem from a brown pouch that she kept tied at her side. She walked past Taki and slipped the gem into the beacon, nothing happened...

"'Shortcut' huh?" Taki raised an eyebrow at Diana, who looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

"Taki wait." Sophitia spoke behind her. "Look at the runes on the beacons." Taki turned away from Sophitia's raised eyebrows as she looked at the beacons and turned to look at the runes. Taki's expression became the same as Sophitia's as she noticed that the runes seemed to have a bright blue light emitting from them. Diana's gaze seemed neutral as if it was nothing new to her. The bowls of ash suddenly and strangely burst into tall flames and Sophitia noticed in the corner of her eye that the half-circle icon and gems seemed to glow. It couldn't be because of the moonlight because the glow appeared too intense for any light to cause.

Diana calmly walked over to Taki and stopped next to her placing her hands on her hips and a small smile on her face. "You want to go first human?"

"Go first? What do you mean?" Taki raised an eyebrow.

"Just walk to the crescent moon symbol and you'll find out." Diana explained.

"Erm..." Taki hesitated, not exactly sure if this was some sort of trickery or set-up. "I don't think-"

"Oh just come with me!" Diana spoke impatiently as she grabbed Taki by the shoulder gripping her body suit and nearly making her fall off her feet by Diana's sudden jerk. She was forcefully pulled over to the stage of the shrine and once they reached the half-circle Taki felt an odd sensation. She felt like she was being lifted from the ground, like she had become weightless, and could feel herself floating higher. The only thing she could feel was Diana's grip on her body suit.

The scenery seemed to change in a hazy-like motion. The dry forest she was once in seemed to take on a different appearance; soon she seemed to be in a much fuller forest that seemed more beautiful then the one she was in seconds ago. It had thousands of small creeks and a few large, clear streams that had cascading waterfalls here and there. Acres of the fullest, tallest and greenest trees seemed to cover the hills endlessly.

Taki noticed that she was no longer weightless as she fell what must have been sixteen feet onto the dimmed black-blue colored stage of what looked like the same shrine that she stepped upon. Luckily, she was able to land on her feet feeling a twinge of pain in her knee joints and pads of her feet. She felt Diana land next to her.

"Is... Is this Ashenvale?" Taki asked as she looked at the beautiful mass of trees before her.

"Part of it. Tyrande's base is close. My sisters and I will, of course, escort you there. If you go by yourself you'll be killed on sight. I know Tyrande will be intrigued to hear your... story." Diana explained as she walked down the steps of the shrine. Her hesitation implied her disbelieve in their reasons of why they wanted to come to Ashenvale in the first place.

Taki caught this and was about to speak in defense when she heard a yelp above her. Her eyes widened but before she could even turn around she felt something fall on top of her, driving her to the ground. The force of the stone against her ribs and stomach was a bit painful but still bearable, especially when she recognized the golden hair that fell over her shoulders and the sound of her voice when she fell upon Taki.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know I'd fall on top of you, let alone fall at all." Sophitia spoke in her ear as she tried to slowly lift herself off of Taki's back. Of course to Taki, she figured that she could take as long as she wanted to get off of her; it was just the warm feeling Sophitia had that made her not want to move. Even through the slight twinge of pain in her ribs she could still smile at the comfortable feeling Sophitia gave. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that the elf that had guided Sophitia through the portal stood next to Diana, arms folded and looking at the two still laying upon the stage.

Taki then heard a brief scream above her, making her eyes snap wide open when the realization hit her. Her head snapped up to the forest and tried to move but Sophitia was still on top of her.

"Oh no..." Taki's words were broken of when she felt immense pain and force as she felt, who she knew it would be, Mina fall on top of the both of them. She could feel her chest press against the stage floor and pressure in her back as well as swear that she heard her back crack. She slowly lifted her tensing hands above her head, tightening the muscles in her fingers and laying her forehead upon the stone stage as she groaned trying to recover herself from the pressure.

"Sorry." Mina spoke as she rolled off of Sophitia, who felt the same pain as Taki mostly within her back. Mina slowly raised herself and pulled her Zanbatou out of the stage where it had fallen blade-first.

"Eh heh..." Taki chuckled at Mina's apology and the way they must have looked in front of these elves as she stood up with the help of Sophitia's hands at her sides. Of course as Sophitia helped her up she could feel her hands slowly sliding up her sides, making her gasp slightly. Taki tried her best to maintain her composure in front of Mina and these elves that were watching, but it was rather difficult as she felt Sophitia's hands slide back down.

"You two ready?" Diana spoke as she walked to one of the lit beacons and pulled out one of the gems, making the portal's happenings and glows cease. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what this human named Taki was smirking about while she had walked passed her.

"Ahem, y-yes, whenever you are." Taki tried to maintain her normal voice as she wiggled a bit out of Sophitia's grasp. She watched as they all turned and headed into the thick, green, creek-woven woods. Taki noticed Mina giving her a raised eyebrow as she turned but Taki didn't care about what other people might think at this point. Taki looked over her shoulder to Sophitia, who just had raised eyebrows as if she was wondering why Taki was looking at her like that.

"Something wrong?" Sophitia asked innocently. Taki grinned and narrowed her eyes as if she just figured out Sophitia's naughty ideas.

"You did that on purpose." Taki stated in a low voice with her grin still in tact.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sophitia let go of the slightly taller woman's sides and walked around her. Taki just looked at her.

'Maybe it was just me.' Taki thought but it was soon changed when she noticed that Sophitia had a grin tugging at her lips when she turned to look back at her. Taki's eyes widened at this but resisted the urge to yell 'Aha!' in triumph, all she could do was grin as she followed the elves, Mina, and her little minx.

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The walk to Ashenvale seemed long and endless but that was because of the thousands of trees they passed by. Although they were still beautiful to look at with the light of the horizon that revealed itself through them and its morning light gleaming into the creaks.

Taki returned the favor to Sophitia by letting her fingertips gently touch and caress her hand and fingertips. Sophitia gasped at the sudden shock of feeling someone's fingers upon her own, but slowly leaned into it. She knew it was Taki teasing her; she didn't even have to turn and look at the wide grin that Taki tried to hold in.

Taki's grin was suddenly taken away when she heard a low growling sound somewhere within the trees. 'Ugh! I've already had enough of these hidden enemies that refuse to reveal themselves.' She thought to herself as she rolled her eyes, unsheathed her Rekki-Maru and started marching over to where she heard the growl.

Sophitia noticed that Taki's fingers where no longer playing with her own. She turned with a look of confusion to find Taki slowly stalking through the trees as if she was a predator on the hunt. "Taki? What is it?"

"Yes, what are you doing human?" Taki was seized by the arm with Diana's grip.

"One of your buddies in these woods?" Taki asked cockily.

"We have thousands of... buddies in these woods." Diana stated with narrowed eyes aimed at Taki's cockiness.

"One that growls?" Taki raised an eyebrow. Diana lowered hers in confusion.

"Growls?-" Diana was interrupted as a bear-like creature jumped out of the woods, causing everyone to jump back in surprise. The brown-black bear growled nastily at Taki, who just smiled as she lifted her Rekki-Maru higher, poised to strike at any moment, just as the bear.

She watched as it ran up on all fours and prepared to pounce upon her when she felt Sophitia push her out of the way, making them both fall on the ground. Taki heard a yelp and looked up in alarm to Sophitia, hoping that the bear hadn't hurt her, but noticed that Diana was standing in front of Sophitia, pointing her blade at its snout while holding her bleeding upper arm.

"Druid! What do you think you're doing?" Diana shouted in a scolding manner as she kept her dagger in place. The bear began to growl again, but it sounded more like it was in pain. It continued and backed away slowly as it stood itself up upon its two back feet. Suddenly it let out a loud roar that, to everyone who was human's surprise, seemed to become more and manlier.

The bear began to change shape; its snout became smaller and the fur around its face began to disappear. Its paws changed into hands, one hand had fingers covered with blood; Taki guessed it was Diana's. Its furry body looked more and more like normal shawls of bear fur wrapped around the body. The roaring of pain finally stopped and the large, beastly man with a lavender-skinned face with a long brown-black beard and hair and blue-tinted starlit eyes turned to look at Diana.

"Don't you think I should be asking that question?" The druid spoke in a deep, rather elderly-sounding voice. "Explain yourself Diana; why do you have these humans at your sides?" He crossed his arms over his chest waiting for the explanation. Diana didn't speak, just looked to the side stubbornly. The druid sighed. "I'm sorry I hit your arm, but you got in the way!" Diana looked up and sighed.

"Well, you shouldn't have tried to attack them! They were behind us, do you think they would do anything without us sensing it?" The druid didn't answer, just looked down. Diana watched him for a moment. "They claimed they were searching for Tyrande." The druid's head shot up in surprise. "They seem to have information concerning Frostmourne." Diana explained calmly.

"Do they now?" The druid sounded intrigued. "Which one told you this?" Diana pointed to Sophitia's direction.

"She did. Why?" Diana asked, but her question remained unanswered as the druid stepped over to Sophitia, who seemed a bit nervous that a half-elf and half-bear was looking at her strangely. He slowly lowered himself over her shoulders and took in several short sniffs of her scent, sniffing along her collarbone. Sophitia let him do what he wished; she didn't want to seem threatening seeing as to how he appears to be another Night Elf.

Taki seemed a bit uneasy at this. "What are you doing?" Taki asked. Her question remained unanswered as the druid ceased and raised himself up to his normal height although continued to stare into Sophitia's eyes.

"I will show you the way to Tyrande. I will lead just so that the other druids who are patrolling the area won't get the wrong idea and attack. He spoke as he walked ahead of them.

"You trust her just like that? Just by smelling her?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow.

The druid slowly turned to her. "I could smell and sense a strong aura of gentleness and devotion upon her; that gave me all I needed to know about her and the truth she has given you." He spoke kindly, then turned and led them all, leaving Diana with raised eyebrows as she turned to her sister elves.

Taki slowly stepped up to Sophitia from behind, placed her hands on the curve of her shoulders and sniffed her neck and shoulders in curiosity.

"Smell anything?" Mina asked in her own curiosity complete with a raised eyebrow. Sophitia turned her head to hear her answer.

"Not really. Well, besides that wonderful scent of fresh mountain air and freshly fallen snow along with lilacs." Taki stated with a smile as she looked at the small smile she gave Sophitia, who turned to her with a soft gaze.

"I really smell like that?" Sophitia seemed rather touched. Taki nodded, then came close to Sophitia's ear, so close that her lips were almost touching it.

"It's rather hard to miss..." Taki closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Sophitia's ear, making Sophitia coo slightly as she closed her eyes and felt Taki's warm breath caress her ear. Taki jumped as she felt Mina slap the back of her shoulder impatiently.

"Before you two start necking can we please press on so that my eyes and ears can have their mercy!" Taki just looked at her as if she was going to wrap her hands around Mina's neck for her interruption, but for the sake of the task at hand, she reluctantly released Sophitia's shoulders. She heard Sophitia sigh in slight disappointment and she of course didn't blame her.

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They hadn't been walking long. Taki would hear a few snaps of twigs here and there but would see nothing, although she could tell that they were being watched with unwavering eyes but figured to not provoke anyone or anything.

"How much further do we have to go... erm... druid?" Sophitia asked hesitantly. She heard the druid chuckle slightly, then turned to her as he walked.

"My name's Berus. And we are not far at all." Berus stopped in front of a wall of leaves and vines, turned towards the three humans with a small smile, and pulled the vines and branches down with one hand.

Their gazes widened as they saw many ziggurats of a golden-brown color and large gems separated evenly around the walls and strips of green that ran along the edges. Surrounding them were many small merchant-like marts and structures that looked like wells, strange through they were.

The inside of the well didn't seem to go into the earth so a bucket wasn't needed and they still had clear water within them. Moss and leaves grew around the edges of the white-stoned wells and they had a symbol much like the one the portal had only this one was smaller and was elevated into the air by to small beams. It kind of reminded Taki of the Shinto shrines she would see in her homelands.

And of course, several Night elves, each with different symmetrical markings on their face and different styles of hair and clothing (mostly battle armor and purple material) carried about their business about the town, making the others that were looking in feel completely oblivious.

The strangest part about this place was the trees; they seemed so large and full and so... alive. Some, Mina noticed, held lanterns upon their limbs.

"Let's get some Moon Well water on that wound Diana." Berus suggested. Taki, Sophitia and Mina looked at each other as he mentioned 'Moon Well water'.

"Theta, would you take these humans to Tyrande while I heal myself?" Diana asked as she turned to the one that still held Aessena in her arms, although Mina had no idea how her strength could last this long.

"Sure. I remember where she is." Theta nodded obediently. She turned to one of her fellow Night elves. "Shalis, take Aessena back to her mother, I'm sure she's worried sick." The elf took Aessena from her arms.

"Of course." Shalis nodded, positioned Aessena comfortably within her arms, then strode off into the city-like town.

She motioned her head for the rest to follow her, while she watched as Berus and Diana made their way to a Moon Well, which appeared to be the same white-stoned wells with elevated symbols.

Taki, Sophitia and Mina became increasingly nervous as they made their way to the largest ziggurat. More and more Night elves noticed their white-tanned skin and black pupils. The three human could most certainly notice their expressions of shocked surprise, scorn, and intrigue in their presence. Most of the Night elves just stopped in their tracks completely and watched the humans with unwavering eyes. The staring just made them even more nervous, they were just waiting for a dagger or arrow to fly into the air and land in one of their backs.

Taki sputtered when she saw another breed of a Night elf; she looked like a centaur, but her body was one of a deer instead of a horse and her skin was a paler lavender than the other night elves. Her hair was long and looked as if it was mostly made out of leaves. She held a spear that had purple feathers attached to the neck of the spear as well as vines wrapped around it. The tint within her starlit eyes was close to a darker blue than the rest. She noticed that she was scorning at her but also noticed a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Mina stopped gripping her Zanbatou as well as holding it tightly to her chest and sighed with relief as they came to their vine-traced ziggurat. They walked up the many steps and noted that the large double-doors were guarded by two tigers. She remembered seeing the double-doors of the other ziggurats were guarded by owls. They all were about to walk into Tyrande's quarters when they were stopped by a male and female guards.

"What is your business here? Why have you brought humans to Ashenvale?" The male spoke, who had his well-muscled chest exposed and long black-purple hair that was partly tied back behind his ears and out of his eyes, which had tall, oval-like symmetrical marks that extended over his bright eyes, half his forehead and over his cheekbones.

"It is matters that, at this point, Tyrande should only know about. Few know already but we don't want word to spread. It would be in your best interest to let us pass." Theta spoke very honorably as if she was a veteran herself. The two guards looked at each other with a raised eyebrow then looked back at her, nodded, then stood aside for them.

As they walked passed and into Tyrande's quarters, Mina took one quick glance at the male guard, who just seemed to stare at her as she walked in, as if he was still suspicious.

The five that were left of the group entered and looked in awe at the beautiful interior. The upper walls were planks of wood held together with what looked like liquid silver. The rest of the walls were shelves and shelves of books, clothing, armor and weapons.

There were many windows raised high to the flat ceiling and let the light pour in across the soft dirt-covered floor and deep pools of clear water that were along the edges of the room and had pink and white rose petals scattered across the surface of the water. The back of the room had a wooden desk that had sheets of parchment, a quill pen and what looked like rings and vials of liquid substances. Next to that was a large bed of leaves with what looked like a sheet of white fur, although the only humans in the room had no idea why that would be there.

High above all this was what looked like a small shield with sides that curved inwards and had two beautifully carved purple arrows with small purple feathers attached to the necks of the arrows crossing over each other in front of the shield. In front of this decoration were three blades evenly spaced with the hilts touching behind a symbol of a half moon and a smaller plum colored moon within it.

"Who is this Tyrande anyway?" Mina suddenly spoke. All the Night elves that guarded them turned to her. Mina's eyes widened, thinking maybe she was too forward with that question and tried to tone it down. "Erm, if I may ask. I mean she seems like she's in a high rank to have all of this." Mina's face lowered in slight embarrassment.

"I am the High Priestess of the Night elves, and yes, it is indeed a high rank."

They all spun around to find a tall and beautiful woman behind them. She did seem older than all the other elves within the room, but she also appeared to have quite a bit of wisdom, you could tell even by looking at her. The marks upon her face were very different from those that Mina, Sophitia and Taki had seen; they looked like purple wings that went over her eyes and extended down the sides of her cheeks. Her eyes had a powerful blue tint to them in the mist of the white glow within the centers.

Her long, dark aqua hair was pulled back slightly with three ties that were at different parts of her hair. It seemed very long even if it was pulled back with the strands that were to the front fell forward to the sides and almost to the front of her face. She crossed her half-armored arms over her chest making her short, dark purple cape sway a bit as her long eyebrows rose in question. "Is something wrong?" She asked in her deep voice that had a graceful or wistful tone to it.

"Erm..." Mina stammered as she brought her composer back along with Taki and Sophitia after realizing that they were staring. "How did you sneak up behind us?" She suddenly asked, making Taki and Sophitia look at her briefly with a raised eyebrow.

"I was in the far corner behind you; I guess you didn't notice me when you came in." Tyrande answered simply.

"Yeah, she tends to miss a lot of things." Taki added with a smirk. Mina slowly turned her head towards her with a raised eyebrow, as if she was going to whack Taki in the back of her head with the butt of her Zanbatou.

"That's not true!" Mina defended. Sophitia rubbed the palm of her hand against her forehead and closed her eyes, not noticing the smirk that the night elf gave as she stood next to Theta as was trying to regain her composure in front of her priestess.

"Oh ho really?" Taki continued in a sarcastic tone. "Well let me jus-"Taki stopped as she felt Sophitia's hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Sophitia with a look that Taki could clearly read. "Ahem... sorry love." Taki spoke in a small voice as she looked down slightly. She heard Sophitia sigh as she let her go.

"Sorry about that." Sophitia apologized to Tyrande, who held a small smile as she looked at the three.

"Heh, don't worry about it, I see it all the time between some of my archers believe it or not." Tyrande paused for a few seconds. "You wished to speak to me? You are from the outer lands, are you not?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Erm y-yes." Sophitia stammered something as she remembered her task. "I was told by... erm... someone that an alliance has been forged between two evils, one of which you know I believe; Frostmourne?" Tyrande merely blinked, although Sophitia could tell that she was a bit intrigued.

"Hmm, Arthas and the 'Burning Legion' will never cease to amaze me." Tyrande stated simply as she strode to the side rather lost in thought.

"Pardon?" Sophitia raised an eyebrow at how well Tyrande was handling this.

"I never thought that Arthas would go as far as going to your outer lands, let alone make an alliance. I don't know him very well; I haven't run into him very often, I would just find parts of your woods corrupted by his plagues of poison." Tyrande turned to them. "You want my help in defeating him? You're going to need more than just the Night elves' arrows to stand by you in battle, I'm afraid." She looked down to the floor. "So thus I will send one of my runners to another breed of elves to ask for their aid in arms and a second to another human I know and ask for her help as well."

"Thank you." Sophitia bowed her head slightly in relief; she was amazed that Tyrande, a high priestess, would actually trust the three of them and their word.

"What would you like us to do in the meantime?" Taki asked just out of curiosity. Tyrande paused for a minute, then smiled.

"You can do whatever you wish within the walls of Ashenvale. I will give you something to make the other Night elves trust you." Tyrande strode over to one of the many shelves and began to rummage through a shelf full of different kinds of metal guards and plates. Taki, Sophitia and Mina looked at each other briefly as the rummaging sound stopped. They watched as Tyrande came back with three pieces of jewelry in her hand. They were each the same; thin metal bands that had a clasp and in the center of the bands dangled a small, metal crescent moon that tilted slightly to look as if it really was in the sky.

"What are these?" Sophitia ask as she looked up and noticed that Tyrande was wearing the same thing around her forehead, having the moon dangle in front.

"Every Night elf has one, just wear them where they are visible and at least most suspicious Night elves won't pester you." She exclaimed as she handed them to the three. Taki clasped it around her wrist, Mina placed it around her neck and Sophitia clasped hers onto the brown-leather ties of her shirt, although Taki thought that wasn't the best place to but it because there was the possibility of a Night elf staring at that part of her shirt for two reasons instead of one.

"I trust you can handle the rest Tyrande?" Theta asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, thank you Theta and send my thank you to your leader, Diana Windwood. Oh! And could you do me the favor of sending a runner to Miss Proudmore and Kael' Thalas of the Blood elves for me?" Theta nodded obediently then turned and left with her last Night elf companion. Tyrande turned back to the humans. "Well, you can do what you wish, within reason that is, inside Ashenvale until we hear a reply from the two runners."

Mina and Taki bowed their heads as they smiled at the fact that they no longer had to really focus on anything for the moment. Sophitia smiled warmly as she turned with the two to head out the door. She suddenly stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder that was slightly pulling her back. "But I want to speak with you if you don't mind." Tyrande spoke in her ear. "Alone."

"Um..." Sophitia wasn't exactly sure of how to answer. She watched as Taki noticed that she wasn't behind her and turned to her with a look of confusion on her face. "I-I'll meet you later Taki, I'm sure I can find you."

Taki blinked twice, then noticed Tyrande's hand on her love's shoulder, making her eyes narrow slightly. 'What is she up to?' Taki thought to herself in suspicion, but decided to let it go seeing as to how generous she's been to them so far. "Al-alright. If you say so." Sophitia heard the uneasiness in Taki's voice.

"I know so." Sophitia spoke with a sweet voice and a smile that gave Taki a new confidence in her as well as a melting heart.

Taki mentally hit herself. 'What am I being so nervous about? Sophitia's perfectly capable of handling herself alone!' Taki smiled as she turned and headed out the door with Mina, who leaned against the doorframe with wandering eyes as she had watched the scene play out before her.

Sophitia turned to Tyrande with a raised eyebrow. "What was it you wanted to speak to me about?" Tyrande grabbed her hand and led her out the door but not before Taki and Mina were out of sight.

"Come with me, I want to make sure that no one can overhear." She turned to Sophitia, who seemed utterly confused.

"I'm sorry?" Sophitia asked as she still felt Tyrande grasping her hand, which she felt uneasy about.

"Just follow me." Tyrande led her down the steps of the tall ziggurat, through the passing elves, who just continued to glance and stare at Sophitia in suspicion, and back into the woods. Sophitia's suspicion rose with every twist and turn Tyrande made, but knowing that she had the highest rank of the Night elf caste system, she kept telling herself that she had nothing to worry about, or so she hoped.

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Well? The background for the Night Elven town I got from the Night elf background used in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Tyrande's tiger will show up eventually, have a name you'd like me to use for it? I already have an idea, but I want to know if yours might be better :)

I hope the descriptions for the druids and dryads (female deer centaurs) worked out well enough. They will be showing up again and I'll be putting more personas into them. The Orcs will be mentioned as well in the next one.


	4. The Undead Advances

Do not own SC or Warcraft characters. There's a lot of talk in this one but I hope you like it, there's some comedy in it as well.

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Chapter 4: Small Advances of the Undead

Nightmare stood upon a small cliff that looked over a narrow river. His eyes fixed upon the one of the many bases of the legion of the Scourge. He was rather intrigued by how the undead's tactics were at the moment. Arthas' battle and invasion strategies seemed different yet promising.

His gaze turned to three acolytes and watched as they arranged themselves in a half-circle. They bowed slightly while clasping their hands together, then raised their hands and pointed their half-covered faces to the sky. The ground in front of them erupted with a circle of green light that went only up to the acolytes' height. Runic signs of light slowly formed within the circle and rose another few feet above the acolytes.

"Well? Are you impressed yet?" A deep voice suddenly spoke behind him, breaking him from his focus on what the acolytes were doing. Nightmare slowly turned to the skeleton with long, thick, curving horns protruding out of his cheekbones and forehead. Nightmare turned back to the acolytes and noticed that the circle of light was starting to create the form of some sort of large building.

"I'm getting there." Nightmare spoke simply, his eyes narrowed as he heard Kel'Thuzad chuckle. "I haven't been able to quench my thirst for souls in weeks and it's driving me mad! Where is the nearest village? I'll go rid the retched souls from their bodies myself if Arthas doesn't show me what this legion can really do!" Nightmare threatened as he watched the building take its form of black rock, he recognized it as a Necropolis, the main building of a Scourge base camp. He watched as the small streams of blood spouted outward from the necropolis.

"Arthas knew that you'd become impatient." Kel'Thuzad spoke in an 'as a matter of fact' tone. "He and a few of his warriors have found nothing but boredom within the woods around us. Once the base is finished to Arthas' liking, you can take all the lives that you wish."

"And when will that be?" Nightmare asked in a rather eager tone, but kept his eyes on the acolytes as they summoned more buildings.

"Within the next few hours. I'm sure you can hold yourself out by then." Kel'Thuzad answered as he turned to return to Arthas.

"One can only hope." Nightmare spoke with a smirk and narrowed eyes.

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"Mina! Will you hurry up! If you don't I'll just leave you in the crowd and you know I will!" Taki scolded as she waited for Mina at a small mart filled with beautifully hand-woven rags. Mina felt the material of a dark blue rag with purple flowers along its front side.

"Will you relax? We're not exactly on a timed schedule here! Besides, you should feel this stuff, it feels like silk." Mina noted as she continued to work her way through the rags. The Night elf merchant, who had pale lavender hair and a single purple stripe running down the front of his arms and a spot of purple above each of his eyebrows, eyed Mina as she went through his rags. Taki remembered him narrowing his eyes at her at first, but when he noticed the moon charm around her neck, his gaze slowly softened.

"Why do you want a rag anyway?" Taki raised an eyebrow as Mina turned to her.

"To clean the blade of my Scarlet Thunder." Mina stated simply as she turned back to her rag sorting. Taki smirked as she leaned back onto one of the mart's wooded beams.

"Ah yes, your beloved weapon that suddenly needs to be tended to." Taki smiled at her own remark as she turned to watch the other elves go by. "What? Are my fingerprints still on it? Oh no! What will happen? Will it tarnish? Oh will this turmoil of steel never cease?" Taki's incredible cockiness and sarcasm got to Mina quite badly, especially when she noticed that Taki had placed the back of her hand on her forehead as if to emphasis her sarcasm in a more dramatic way. Mina narrowed her eyes at her and pointed her finger just below Taki's nose.

"Y' know Taki..." Mina started in a rather loud voice. "If you don't stop with your cocky remarks, I swear to the gods that you'll become a new sacrifice!" Mina threatened, but only became more heated as Taki smirked and eyed her as if she was intrigued.

"I swear to Elune that you two are the loudest in the whole city! Even louder than some of our archers." Mina and Taki turned to see Diana Windwood staring at them with her hands on her hips. Mina noticed that Diana glanced at her upper chest. "I see that you've charmed our beloved priestess; she gave you our charm crescents."

"Well, I wouldn't say _charmed_ but..." Mina stated as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"What do you mean?" Diana seemed rather curious at this and folded her arms over her chest and switched the weight on her legs.

"Well..." Mina continued, but rather didn't know exactly how. "She didn't seem to have a problem with us in the first place; she actually seemed quite interested in Sophitia." Mina's gaze turned to Taki to see how she took this little reminder; Taki seemed in a bit of a daze, as if she was lost in thought of the whole idea. "But it may be just a coincidence." Mina added, then noticed that Taki had looked up at her slightly, as if Mina had just saved her from a wave of ideas.

"Oh." Diana spoke simply, then slowly looked down not knowing what else to do. "So... Sophitia is with her then?"

"Yes." Taki spoke before Mina could. "What happened to your wound?" Taki suddenly asked, noticing that not a bruise or scar was left on her skin. Diana looked down to her formally wounded shoulder as if she forgot that she had a wound at all.

"Oh just the Moon Well water." Diana answered simply as if it was no big deal.

"Water... healed your wound within minutes?" Mina raised an eyebrow as if the idea was impossible. Diana smiled slightly at her as if she was waiting for Mina to do that.

"Oh it's special water that can heal us Night elves to perfect condition." Diana answered as if it was nothing new, but Taki and Mina raised eyebrows at her, making her smile even more. "If you would like to see what else we Night elves can do, you're more than welcome in accompanying us to a part of Ashenvale, we have been informed that the Orcs have found their way there and are desecrating a part of our forests. It's rather fun." Diana stated with a smile. Taki was about to answer but felt something large brush against her back. Mina and Taki both turned and sputtered as they saw a huge bird standing behind them with, to their surprise, antlers and its feathers had dozens of colors; teal, turquoise, dark aqua and white, to name a few. Its beak was long and seemed quite sharp. Its tail was a group of long dark blue feathers with white tips and they were perhaps almost as long as its body.

"Oops, sorry, newly trained hippogryphs are hard to deal with." A female Night elf spoke. She had long dark aqua hair that was pulled back behind her ears except for a patch which was her bangs and fell forward and covering her right eye, the rest of her locks covered her back. She only wore armored pants and a black cloth-like top that only covered her chest spoke as she sat upon the large bird. Diana suddenly had an idea as she looked upon the dumbstruck Mina.

"Wanna take a ride Mina?" She asked coyly. Mina whipped around and stared at Diana with a slacking jaw.

"You can't be serious! That thing will kill be!" Mina yelled back in complete disbelief at Diana even asking the question.

"Not if you keep your hand away from its beak and hold on tight." Diana lifted a finger as she stated her point. "You won't mind, would you rider?" Diana crossed her arms over her chest as she faced the rider. The rider paused, not sure of how to answer Diana, seeing as to how she's never flown with a human before. The rider quickly shrugged as she came to her conclusion.

"I don't mind, it's not like I'm going into battle against anything threatening the skies, so I don't see the harm." The rider answered with a small smile towards Mina.

"No." Mina answered quickly and simply.

"What are you so afraid of?" Taki suddenly asked. Mina's eyes went wide at her.

"Heights!" Mina answered with a shout. Taki tried her best to contain her growing laughter after pulling back at Mina's sudden outburst.

"Well? Why not try and face the fear?" Taki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I don't want to!" Mina retorted stubbornly.

"Oh will you just build up some courage already and try it!" Taki shot back with a smile she couldn't help but let out at their argument. Her smile faded but slowly came back as Mina grabbed her body suit at the shoulders and pulled her so close that their noses were almost touching. Taki noticed the corner of Mina's lip twitching from the aggravation she was feeling.

"You don't appear to be listening!" Mina spoke in a forced whisper. "_I_ am _afraid_ of _heights_. There was a reason why I decided to stay below ground in a labyrinth you know!" Mina stated slowly as if she was afraid Taki might not get her point again, her eye twitched slightly.

"Oh don't worry, just hold on and nothing will happen to you." Mina was suddenly swept into the rider's arms and pulled upon the hippogryph's back. Mina sat in front of the rider, which made her even more nervous, but feeling the rider's arm across her chest which pulled her tighter against the elf made her feel a bit better. "Ready?" The elf spoke softly near her ear.

"Not really." Mina answered in a small voice as she looked down at the giant creature she sat upon and started gripping slightly at its feathers.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." The elf spoke reassuringly as she took the reigns firmly within her hand.

"Have fun!" Taki encouraged as she waved at the distressed Mina.

"Hold my Zanbatou for me." Mina gave her weapon to Taki, who took it with a firm grip and stared at it for a moment.

"No problem." Taki looked up as she spoke, then looked back down at the Zanbatou with a smirk. "I'll just take this to Ashenvale's black market and see how much this goes for." Taki spoke as she looked at the handle and blade as if to check and make sure that it was in perfect condition for selling.

"You do and I'll decapitate you!" Mina scolded as she leaned towards Taki.

"With what? I have your only weapon." Taki raised an eyebrow then chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm just kidding. Enjoy!" Taki watched as the hippogryph bent down, preparing for flight. And with a 'heaven help me...' Mina was jerked into the air by the bird and its rider. Diana and Taki watched them until they became a speck in the sky.

"Do you really think she'll be alright on that thing?" Taki turned to Diana as she leaned onto the Zanbatou, narrowing her eyes in question. Of course she knew what Mina would say if she heard her; '_Now_ you have second thoughts?'

"Oh yeah, she'll be fine. She just needs to keep her hand away from its beak." Diana stated rather informingly. "One of our Night elves while explaining about creature in general once made the mistake of drawing her hand near to the beak and had half her arm bitten off." Diana informed as she looked at Taki briefly and turned to go back into the city. Taki just watched her a bit wide-eyed and gulped. Diana suddenly spun around. "Oh yeah, do you want to come with us in defending the forests against the Orcs? A demon huntress such as you should certainly enjoy it." Diana folded her arms behind her back as she waited for Taki's answered as if she was excitedly awaiting it.

"Erm..." Taki looked towards the skies. The idea did sound fun, fighting and orcish horde did sound like a worthy challenge and a thrill. The problem was leaving Mina here by herself; who knows what kind of trouble she'll get into. "I'd better wait for Mina."

"I'm sure Mina will land by the time we come back." Diana stated simply. Taki eyed her for a moment then looked down.

"Oh alright; I'll go." Taki turned her gaze to the Zanbatou. "But what do I do with this? I can't fight while holding another larger weapon that isn't mine." Diana eyed the Zanbatou while running her thumb and index finger along the sides of her chin.

"Perhaps one of our dryads can use it." Diana spoke to really no one in particular.

"Dryads?" Taki raised an eyebrow. Diana just took the Zanbatou from her hands.

"You'll see." Diana spoke simply as she walked through the crowd to her fellow Night elven warriors with the Zanbatou in hand while Taki followed, thinking about what fighting the Orcs would be like and what their weaknesses might be.

'Hopefully this'll take my mind off of Sophitia.' Taki sighed as she looked to the skies. 'Am I worried or do I just simply miss her even though she's been gone fore over two hours?' Taki raised an eyebrow. 'A little of both I suppose...'

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Nightmare laughed heartily and wickedly as he thrust his living weapon through a small group of villagers that didn't even have time to turn and run. With each slice he became filled with more and more excitement; each thrust just gave him a thrilling sensation and watching each body split in two in any angle just made him grip his weapon harder so that each bloody swing and murder can become more flavorful than the last.

Arthas sipped his own lust for blood at the other side of the road. Blood was his second favorite thing about massacres, his first are the screams. Oh how he loved to listen to the screams, they were music to his ears and Frostmourne's blade. The glow within the eyes of the ram on the blade of Frostmourne became brighter with each soul taken. Mounted upon his undead steed; a mass of bones of a full grown horse, he sliced his way through each villager; young or old, male or female, it didn't matter. They all held souls within their useless bodies and all that needed to be done is for Frostmourne to touch and capture it with its tip as it lunged though the flesh.

Kel'Thuzad stood upon a hill watching the disturbing scene, his bone arms folded and his dark robes fluttering about in the wind that was brushing against his back. Even though he was a skeleton, glee could still be felt within him. He watched as a mortal with a tear-streaked face crept up behind Arthas with a wide-bladed axe in his hand. Arthas focused only on the mortal woman's scream as he ran Frostmourne deep into her upper chest.

Kel'Thuzad was about to shout a warning to Arthas, but stopped as an arrow shot passed his skull and into the mortal's jugular, making him let out a sound as if someone had just slit his throat and with wide eyes that quickly dimmed, he fell upon his side with a hard thud.

Kel'Thuzad turned and noticed up in a tree a woman wearing a black cloak with a dimmed golden hem, the hood covering her dimmed dark blue hair, the pale blue skin of her face and black lips, but it couldn't cover the burning red color that took up the whole of her eyes besides the iris, which was tinted to a whiter color. Her long ears poked though the hood of her cloak. She held her demonically-crafted bow with a curving demon's horn the size of a knuckle at each end of the bow's grip, pointing in each other's direction as if to make crosshairs for targeting. The bow was in the same hand that also gripped the tree branch she crouched upon. She stared at Arthas with a glare that would make most rodents want to run back into their hiding place.

"Oh ho! My my my. Sylvanas Windrunner. I'm surprised to see you here." Kel'Thuzad spoke as he turned so that he faced her fully. Sylvanas' glare darted to the lich below her and stared at him for a small moment.

"So am I." Sylvanas spoke in a harsh voice, the same undead voice that sounded like three voices; her normal voice in a higher octave, in a lower octave, and the third sounding like her whisper. She closed her eyes for a moment, relieving the darkness from the blood red glow they emitted until she opened them again.

"I'm even more surprised that you actually saved our King Arthas." Kel'Thuzad noted. Sylvanas turned to him again; her glare looked even more threatening.

"That bastard of a Lich King made me." She turned away as if she was ashamed. "That frozen _king_ who controls this scourge is still speaking in my head. Why can't he just speak in Arthas' head alone? Haven't I suffered enough? My soul has shattered and that's enough for me to handle alone." Sylvanas' hand curled into a fist so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"You have no choice; this is something all veterans and higher must deal with. Arthas is a great leader and you will learn to accept your place. You will learn to heed the Lich King's words and let them come in time-" Kel'Thuzad spoke but was cut off as Sylvanas threw him the same threatening glare.

"Spare me your lecture lich! I don't give a damn about Arthas, the Lich King or the scourge! Hell itself knows how I long to see my arrows drenched with Arthas' blood, to see him swimming in his own blood as he deserves!" Sylvanas retorted with a hiss.

"Mind your tongue wench!" Kel'Thuzad spoke in a deep voice of warning. Sylvanas just narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'll mind what I wish when I wish it, thank you!" Sylvanas retorted then leaned back a bit as she glared at him once again. "So what do you and your _beloved_ Death Knight done these past few aimless days? Polished what bone can be seen from your decomposing ghouls?" Sylvanas mocked with a smirk. Kel'Thuzad lowered his head but kept his eyes upon Sylvanas. 'Oh ho, well seems like I struck a nerve, if he has one anyway.' Sylvanas thought to herself with a raised eyebrow.

"For your information, we've been pillaging towns of the Human Alliance and camp sites of the Orcs, we only did so for the only reason of obtaining their darker magics and taking more souls." Kel'Thuzad crossed his arms over his chest. "We also were also brought what we thought was a dead carcass of a beastly man. We later found out that he was a creation and that he was only knocked out. He had to be twice the height of any normal man and held a giant axe. We're planning to make good use of his strength." Kel'Thuzad informed.

"You're going to convert him into undead, much what you did to me?" Sylvanas spoke with a hint of harshness in her voice. Kel'Thuzad simply nodded.

"Well well. Look who's here." They both turned to see Arthas looking up at Sylvanas with a wide grin and narrowed eyes. Nightmare stood next to him holding his blood-drenched sword, staring up at the undead woman. "Here to watch the show? I'm flattered. How's the life of the queen of the banshees?" Arthas looked up with a cocky grin. Sylvanas just sneered in return.

"Don't speak to me as if you own me!" Sylvanas hissed.

"Oh ho, but I do; I made you what you are today. In fact, I must say that your new skin tone really brings out your lovely blood-colored eyes." He added in a voice as if he thought he was charming her. Sylvanas growled; she had it in mind to scratch all the skin off of him and rip out his now-blackened heart in the process but held her ground; the odds that would be against her if she did attack him would be strong. Sylvanas looked away, trying to calm herself. "Our Lich King had spoken to me before we came to this now blood-soaked village." Arthas spoke in a serious tone as he stared that the hooded figure before him. "There is something or someone within Azeroth that can possibly be a threat to the scourge if not eliminated quickly. Knowing how well you blend into the shadows, I want you to find and kill this person who happens to be a human of a different blood then the Human Alliance of Azeroth." Arthas instructed. Sylvanas slowly turned to him.

"And if I refuse?" Sylvanas raised an eyebrow as if she was actually interested in Arthas' reply. Arthas smirked slightly.

"Then I'll make you fight against your own people again, and I know how much you _love_ that." Arthas spoke sarcastically. Sylvanas sneered within her pause.

"Where can I find this person?" Sylvanas spoke with a small sigh, ignoring Arthas' wicked grin of triumph.

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"So this person who told you about Frostmourne, about me and my race, who is he?" Tyrande had been questioning Sophitia at her spot of choice, which was a valley with two wide waterfalls that stood next to each other and were maybe three feet taller than Tyrande and Sophitia. Lush grass and, what Sophitia was told, moonstone roses surrounded the flowing river and crept up the stone edges of the falls like vines. A few of the tall, thick trees' limbs held lanterns with bright turquoise glows emitting from them.

"He's... erm... a friend." Sophitia spoke hesitantly and nervously. Tyrande just raised an eyebrow then leaned closer to Sophitia who sat next to her on a fallen log.

"I don't think you can lie to a high priestess. Now tell me, who told you?" Tyrande edged in a soft voice. It was hard for Sophitia to focus as she stared at the starlit eyes that stared back into hers. It felt like the light from the pupils of Tyrande's eyes were pouring into hers.

"You're going to laugh." Sophitia stated as she looked down. Tyrande chuckled.

"I've heard a lot of ridiculous excuses from thieves, beaters and even my warriors. I don't think yours will be as bad as theirs." Tyrande spoke with a warm smile.

"W-well." Sophitia started nervously. "I'm spoken to by..." She stared Tyrande straight in the eye and Tyrande returned the same. "By my god, Hephaestus. He warned me of what would happen and told me to come to you for aid. I have no idea what we're up against but I know you do, remembering how you spoke of this Arthas." Sophitia waited for Tyrande's answer, expecting a laugh that said that her words were preposterous.

Tyrande pulled back a bit with raised eyebrows. "Oh, you hear a god speak to you as well huh? I hear my goddess; Elune. I do as she wills me to without delay nor regret... I'm sure you do the same." Tyrande sat herself upright as she spoke, watching as Sophitia nodded. "Your fortune is greater than mine though." Sophitia pulled back sharply at this.

"Why do you say that?" It was Sophitia's turn to lean forward slightly in curiosity. Tyrande was silent; she stared at the ripples of water made by the roaring falls.

"Nothing, it's nothing you should have any concern about." Tyrande spoke simply as she shifted in her seat.

"Well... then..." Sophitia was quite curious as to why Tyrande believed a normal girl could be more fortunate that her, a high priestess. "At least tell me why you trust us; your one of the few that actually trusts humans and doesn't look at us like we're about to stab you."

Tyrande turned to her with a soft gaze. "Alright." She shifted in her seat again. "I actually used to loath humans myself, thinking that they were untrustworthy, but that was before I met a human sorceress, Jaina Proudmore, who aided us against a powerful demon. She's the same woman I sent one of my runners to, so I eagerly await her reply which should be here in maybe a day, knowing her speed and the fact that she can teleport herself." Tyrande explained simply. All this about sorceresses, teleporting and demons was starting to make Sophitia's head hurt. "We also had the Orcs side with us which was a shock. Of course we're back to being enemies again, but I expected that; all Orcs just don't seem hold favors like we do."

Sophitia had no idea what to say in reply, this kind of conversation was one she couldn't match with. Their long silence was interrupted as Sophitia felt something brush against the back of her shoulder. She turned only to come face to face with a beautiful white tiger with a glowing blue iris in its eyes. Sophitia's eyes widened then suddenly sputtered as hastily shuffled her legs trying to back away from the tiger. Sophitia kept backing up until she ran into who she knew would be Tyrande, who grabbed her shoulders and kept her in place, facing the tiger. She watched as its tail waged slowly behind him and its whiskers flicked slightly as it stared back at Sophitia much the same way Tyrande did.

"Starstrider!" Tyrande scolded. "I thought I told you to stay put in my quarters!" Sophitia suddenly realized what the fur coat that was lying on a bed of leaves must have really been.

"Your... pet?" Sophitia asked nervously.

"Battle companion, mostly." Tyrande answered simply.

"I see." Sophitia replied in a hesitant tone. Tyrande looked to the sky.

"It's getting rather dark; the moon is just beginning to shine. Perhaps you should head back. And perhaps you can bring Taki here sometime; it gets quite beautiful at night in these forests, especially near waterfalls." Tyrande spoke in a soft voice.

"I hope you show me more of your race." Sophitia suddenly spoke as she looked to the waterfalls.

"Want me to show you a bit of magic?" Tyrande asked in a tone that gave away the fact that she wanted to show this human something impressive.

"Magic?" Sophitia lowered her eyebrows in confusion. Tyrande didn't speak, she just lifted Sophitia up so she sat upright.

Tyrande reached out an open hand towards the moon then slowly closed it one finger at a time while twisting her wrist until her closed palm faced the sky. It looked like she thought she'd captured the essence of the moon within her palm. She brought her closed palm to her mouth and blew in it so softly that it was silent. As Tyrande blew into her fist, Sophitia's eyes widened as a silver light broke through and shined through whatever openings there were through her slacking fist. Tyrande slowly opened her fist to reveal a silver-colored butterfly, which fluttered out of Tyrande's hand, above the river and into the leaves, leaving behind a tail of silver light. Tyrande noticed Sophitia's look of awe as her eyes followed the silver butterfly.

"It's the simplest magic any Night Elf can perform but it was always one of my favorites ever since I learned it when I was younger than even you." Tyrande spoke as if it was nothing new to her. Sophitia turned to her slowly with a soft gaze and paused for a moment.

"Well thank you for showing me." She spoke in a soft sweet voice as if she was still in shock of seeing a silver butterfly made within Tyrande's hand. Sophitia slowly stood herself up. "I should go back and meet with Taki and Mina; I'm sure their wondering what's taking me so long." She explained as she bowed her head slightly to be polite. "Thank you again." She spoke as she smiled sweetly and turned to leave, only to stop momentarily so that she wouldn't run into Tyrande's 'riding companion' which acted more like a pet to Sophitia's eye.

Tyrande smiled at her as she watched her leave. Her gaze swept to Starstrider, who just looked up to her master and beloved owner with fixed blue eyes as if it wanted to know Tyrande's thoughts. Tyrande's smiled widened slightly as she raised a hand and stroked the top of Starstrider's head. Starstrider's eyes opened and closed as she leaned into Tyrande's hand. Tyrande giggled slightly in her throat as Starstrider did so. She stopped her stroking and stared at Starstrider idly as if she had nothing left to do. She sighed as she looked down. '...Malfurion...'

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"Why in the _hell_ didn't you warn me there was going to be so many!" Taki scolded at Diana, who was busy enough as it was guarding against the multiple axes and spears.

Coming across the Orcs was a strange sight to see for Taki, the orcs were fighting against, to her surprise, living trees that appeared to have long beards made of moss and leaves and their eyes had a glowing yellowish color within them. Their arms were long and quite skinny and swiped their claw-like 'hands' against their attacking foes as swords were piercing and carving through them. Their root-like legs were slow moving as they came towards their foes but their powerful, vicious limbs compensated for that little disadvantage.

Each orc had hair as black as coal and had green skin. The colors of their eyes were melding between red, gold and brown, the pupils were black. All were very brute looking; physically they looked a lot like Astaroth besides the height; hardly any exceeded Taki's height. All had spiked, brown and black armor that covered their legs and lower arms, hardly any had chest plates.

"What are taking about? There's only twenty-eight of them!" Diana shouted back as she pushed against the axe that pushed against her long leaf-blade sword. True they only lost maybe four archers to the orcs' axes, but the orcs were losing more warriors than they were, mostly due to the fact that most if not all of the Night elven warriors were long-ranged fighters using brilliantly carved bows with illuminating strings of blue and white and many long spears that, seeing as to how the warriors that used them were the half-women half-deer dryads or forest nymphs they could actually, to Taki's amazement when watching, form wooden spears within their hands.

Arrows showered down upon the orcish men making them fall one by one. Some put up a pretty tough fight despite how many arrows were sticking out of their shoulders, arms and back, but Taki was able to swoop in and make their deaths come faster. Taki's focus was disrupted when she heard a flapping sound behind her and a strong gust of wind.

"Taki!" Taki heard someone she rather feared more than the orcs at the moment call out to her in a scolding voice. She turned to find a fear-stricken and hair loosened and messed Mina shaking as she wiggled her way off of the hippogryph's back and out of the rider's arms as the hippogryph ruffled its feathers slightly to make itself more comfortable. The rider grinned slightly as if she was amused by how Mina acted after soaring the skies on a beautiful bird.

Mina gasped and lost feeling in her knee joints periodically as she made her way to Taki, who just stood there wide-eyed. Mina lost her balance when she finally stood in front of Taki but was able to catch herself as she threw her hands upon Taki's upper chest, gripping her body suit tightly as she lost the weight in her legs. She climbed her way up until her hands locked around Taki's neck and pulled herself up so she could be face to face with Taki.

"I'm g-going to s-severely hurt you!" Mina spoke in a stuttering forced whisper. Taki noticed her eye twitching as she tried to lift herself from Mina's weight.

"Well-don't blame me for not enjoying it!-" Taki spoke quickly but was interrupted by Mina's finger pointing just below her nose.

"Oh I blame you!" Mina spoke in a lowered yet harsh voice as she narrowed her eyes. Taki leaned back a bit or at least as much as she could while Mina was still hanging off of her.

'Oh Kami...' Taki sighed in her head. She knew Mina would skin her alive eventually.

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Well, the next chapter is going to start off almost exactly where this ended, I just figured this was long enough for both you and me : ) Plus there is enough talk in it as it is. I hope you liked the comedy that I put in it. Tyrande's magic was one that I made up myself so I hope it was creative enough.

In this one with Sylvanas this is going to be before she made The Forsaken. The Forsaken isn't going to happen in this one actually because it would just make things more complicated. I hope I did a good job of bringing out Sylvanas' character.


	5. Partners in Hand

This is a really long one, there will be a lot of Taki/Sophie affection going on by the end of this one, be warned. Do not own SC or Warcraft characters unfortunately.

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Chapter 5: Partners in Hand

The rather exasperated Mina held onto Taki as if it were for dear life. Her gaze shifted to a certain dryad who was trying her best to guard herself against a tall orc with a broad chest. Her eyes widened when she noticed that the half-woman half-deer was using her Zanbatou to fend him off. Mina's eyes narrowed as her gaze swept to Taki, who was trying her best to keep herself from falling over from Mina's body weight.

"Taki..." Mina spoke in a soft tone, although Taki could see the suspiciousness in her eyes. "What was the highest price for my Scarlet Thunder? I'm dying to know."

"I didn't sell it!" Taki shouted, wondering why Mina took Taki seriously about selling her weapon.

"Then why is it in the hands of another?" Mina shouted back as she tugged on Taki's body suit. Taki couldn't take anymore of Mina's childishness so she grabbed Mina's sides and pulled her up so the she was actually standing on the ground. Taki looked at her sternly.

"Look, you want your beloved weapon so bad? Then go get it yourself and help us fight these orcs!" Mina just looked as her as she spoke. With narrowed eyes she walked over to the dryad and took it from her hands. The leafy-haired dryad looked at her with an expression of surprise.

"This is how you use it properly." Mina spoke then quickly started whacking and slicing the tall orc at an incredible speed. Mina whacked the butt of her Zanbatou against his head and stomach then swung the blade of her weapon horizontally at the orc's chest, making him grunt in pain at the burning sensation. He looked down in surprise and anger at his chest now being coated in blood. He looked up at Mina with uncontrollable rage.

"A mere sever cannot dispose me so easily, you wretched and misguided human!" The orc spoke in a deep, grunt-like voice with eyes that still portrayed pain and rage. He swiftly took his giant-bladed axe within his hands and swung it above his head preparing to slice Mina in half. "I will cut you into ribbons fool!" The orc raised his voice to a point that it nearly echoed within the woods that seemed endless.

Mina's eyes widened as she looked at the size of his axe, but then narrowed as she had an idea. She dodged the axe when it became inches above her head and taking the advantage of his slow recovery to a guarding position and once again swung her blade horizontally at his right side. "Look, if you're going to kill me, _do_ _it_ and don't keep talking about it!" Mina retorted as she ripped the blade out of his side.

She cut deep into the orc's side, more than half-way through his stomach and noted that she had used the whole of her blade. The orc hunched over, grabbing his side feeling the blood pour through his fingers her howled with pain and collapsed to the floor on his knees.

"Damn you..." The orc uttered as he fell over and landed upon his unwounded side, his eyes becoming lifeless as his dark red blood flowed and soaked the ground beneath him.

Mina sighed in slight exhaustion and leaned on her Zanbatou as she turned to the dryad who had raised her eyebrows in surprise at the fallen orc. "Sorry, but you'll have to be weaponless."

"Who said I had to be weaponless?" The dryad spoke with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk as she raised her hand and formed a spear with vines of leaves at the neck of the spear. "Nice spear though." The dryad complimented as she galloped over to her sisters to help fight against a group of orcs. Mina wanted to correct her about her Zanbatou not being a spear but ultimately decided to not to; there wasn't really a point in doing so at the moment.

"Humph, well obviously your ability to balance yourself has recovered." Taki suddenly spoke behind her with her arms crossed, eyes narrowed and putting her weight on one leg as if she was a bit peeved at her. Mina broke out a nervous smile and laugh as she rubbed her nape while having problems looking Taki in the eye or, to be better put, glare.

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The last of the orcish horde, who happened to be the leader of the group, laid upon the leaf-scattered ground gripping his right arm as it lay limply next to him, to which he had Taki to thank for when she had wrapped her arm behind his and sharply pushed his arm forward, causing the elbow joint to break. Around him were the bloody and beaten bodies of his brethren, staining the grounds and trees with blood. He raised his head from the ground from time to time as he slow gasped for the air that he was trying to catch, although he knew that that would do him no good considering the physical state he's in.

One arrow stuck out of his shoulder while the rest of his body was nearly covered in bruises and blood slowly streamed out of the corner of his mouth and his side. His boar-skin leather vest and pants were severed near the hems and upon the thighs, making his blood visible beneath the slits. His red-golden eyes swept to the remaining six archers that stayed crouched upon the limbs of the trees. They looked back at him with patient and unwavering eyes.

"Damned wenches, the lot of you." He spoke out in shuddered breaths as he laid his head back upon the ground due to exhaustion.

"Say what you might orc, you deserve your fate for desecrating our grounds." Diana replied in a stern tone as she kept her eyes fixed upon him.

"Fool... we had no choice." The orc shut his eyes but only in hopes to regain his strength.

"What nonsense do you speak? We fought in our defense!" Diana retorted, thinking that his loss of blood was beginning to get to his head. The orc let out a shuddered breath and opened his eyes.

"True, but we came to bid you no harm believe it or not, only when you attack did _we_ have to fight in defense. We were ordered by our chieftain, Thrall, to find your... w-whatever you call your highest rank in your race..." He began to feel and see his surroundings become hazy as well as his breaths become slower.

'Tyrande.' Diana instantly thought when he spoke 'highest rank in your race'.

"We weren't told why, but all we were given was a letter for the highest rank of your race. We were ordered to give it to her." The orc explained as he began to feel lightheaded. "It's in my vest pocket."

Diana hesitantly walked over to the fallen orc, unbuttoned his leather vest pocket and found a piece of parchment. She opened the letter in curiosity only to find, to her bemusement, confusion and annoyance, that the whole letter was written in red-colored orcish runes, which she couldn't read; only those who have educated themselves well enough to become someone of a very high rank could read this.

"What kind of game are you playing at orc? Your chieftain encoded this letter." She turned to the orc with a look of suspiciousness only to find that his eyes were now lifeless and his well-built chest no longer shakily rose and fell. Diana sighed and slowly lifted herself from the orc's corpse. Her eyes squinted as she examined the runic-written letter again.

"What do we do know Diana?" An archer came forward. Diana looked at her briefly then folded the letter and stuck it underneath her waist band.

"We'll give this to Tyrande; surely she can make heads or tails on this letter." Diana spoke simply as she headed in the direction of the capital city. "We'll take a few flasks of Moon Well water on the way back for those of you who still have wounds." Diana spoke as she looked upon the six archers, three dryads and single ancient protector even though, being a tree, it didn't need the healing water.

Taki and Mina looked at each other. "Do you feel left out?" Mina asked as her eyebrows lowering with question. Taki merely shrugged.

"Well, either way, it'll be interesting to see what happens." Taki spoke as she turned to follow the crowd of Night elves.

"Well, I can tell you something even more interesting, to me at least." Mina stated, not turning to look at Taki.

"What might that be?" Taki raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm walking next to a tree!" Mina leaned towards Taki and whispered rather loudly in a tone of stunned surprise as she slowly looked up to the bearded ancient protector, who followed the others with his eyes fixed on the path ahead. Taki couldn't help but chuckle.

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'Damn that Arthas! He sends me on this meaningless mission and doesn't even give me the peace of carrying it out _alone_! I mean I can't believe he sent his little necromancer along with me, most likely the foremost reason being to keep an eye on me.' Sylvanas rubbed her hand down the side of her face in aggravation as she walked through the forest of thin trees, making sure to stay out of the main road in the case that a human might see her. 'I wish I could just kill my little watchful sidekick just so that he won't get on my nerves as easily as Arthas does. I know that to really kill one who is undead is to stab them with all your strength through their lifeless heart, but who knows what Arthas and his little bone-bag of a buddy might do to me next if I disobey.' Sylvanas kept her eyes fixed on the dirt path as if there was nothing left to do.

"Lost in thought Banshee Queen?" The white bearded necromancer broke her from her thoughts. His green, white and purple flourished robes just barely covered his toes as he strode at her side although a bit behind her due to her fast pace. The thing that Sylvanas hated about necromancers was their cocky self-righteous attitude. Not to mention the idiotic 'headdresses' that was the skull of a sable as part of their stupid ensemble that also includes a tall casting staff that had outstretched wings of a bat and a dead snake that wrapped itself up the head of the staff.

Sylvanas gritted her teeth at the necromancer's sarcastic remark. "I was and I liked it that way." She stated while trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Um-hm, well if I were you I wouldn't do that otherwise your thoughts will become an obsession and you'll slowly slip into a deeper state of insanity and self-loathing." The necromancer explained simply.

"And just what is 'slip into a deeper state of insanity' supposed to mean?" Sylvanas' words began to have a harsher tone as if she was offended as she turned her head slightly to the necromancer, who smirked.

"Oh nothing a queen of a damned race should worry about, for the moment." He stated simply. Sylvanas' hands formed into tight fists.

"Look!" Sylvanas spun around and faced the necromancer that had a green glow that took up the whole of his eyes and even appeared to drip gently upwards. "It isn't exactly a thrill for me to be stuck with you on a mission involving an assassination, so if you don't mind I'll leave you to walk to our destination while I take the higher, faster road." Sylvanas turned and leapt up to a high tree branch. She leapt swiftly from tree branch to tree branch heading in her original direction. She suddenly turned to the necromancer who just watched her with a look of annoyance. "Catch up if you think you can!" Sylvanas challenged as a grin slowly spread across her face before she quickly spun around and continued to hurtle from branch to branch.

The necromancer continued to watch her until she completely disappeared from his view. "What a child." He spoke to no one in particular as he looked down and closed his eyes as he continued to walk at his normal pace, not bothering to catch up, he'd just cast a spell to make him teleport to her whenever he'd felt that she stopped.

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Sophitia sat herself upon one of the many steps of one of the tall ziggurats, just because you had a better view of the sky and it was better than being lost in a mass of fall trees. She sighed as she slowly lifted her gaze to the soft twilight sky. Normally this would bring anyone's mind to ease but for her it was much more difficult. She became increasingly nervous and worried, even to the point that she took out one of her most cherished items, which she knew would be strange to others but she loved it nonetheless; Taki's blade-polishing rag.

It was old with edges that unraveled slightly and was still well-used with spots of tarnish still within it. To Sophitia every inch that was Taki showed itself through her rag; all of Taki's determination when demon hunting, her love for her blades and her love for her job which others dared not do, even all of Taki's confidence and pride showed within her rag and even her oath of protecting all that she could from evil's grasp.

Sophitia now felt as if she was holding Taki in her hands and after gazing at it with belief and love in her eyes she brought it to her chest and held it there tightly and affectionately as she closed her eyes. In a way she looked as if she was drawing the essence of Taki into herself and loving every moment, passed the nose-tickling stench of tarnished steel she could even smell Taki's wonderful and enchanting scent of cherry blossoms. 'My love...' Sophitia heard her own love-struck voice suddenly enter her head. "Oh, Taki... where are you?" Sophitia's same love-struck voice came through her throat as she slowly looked back up to the sky with a look of longing.

"Erm, excuse me?" A rather youthful and timid-sounding voice spoke at her side. She hastily rose herself to her feet, shoved the rag back within her sac that she still carried and brushed off her skirt as she turned to find a woman in a purple cloak with a golden hem and was holding a long wooden staff. Sophitia wished she was wearing a cloak at the moment due to the fact that she could feel herself blushing.

"Uh-erm-yes?" Sophitia mentally kicked herself for her stuttering response, although she smiled pleasantly. She heard the woman giggle softly before she continued.

"I-I'm supposed to be meeting with Tyrande Whisperwind and I was wondering if you knew where she was. I'm Jaina Proudmoore." The woman smiled warmly through the hood of her cloak. Sophitia's eyebrows rose in intrigue.

"Oh really? I've heard quite a bit about you from her, you're a sorceress are you not?" Jaina's smile widened as her own eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Yes, of the Human Alliance. I'm surprised that Tyrande spoke of me to you, seeing as to how she didn't used to like humans." Jaina explained all the while her smile as wide as ever. Sophitia blinked.

"Human Alliance? You're human?" Sophitia almost hoped she was right, it would actually seem comforting to know that a human from this 'new' world would be helping them during these times of growing darkness. She watched as Jaina nodded and pulled down her hood. Sophitia noticed that her ears weren't long, her skin was the same color as her own and the pupils of her eyes were black like as her own so she was indeed human. She took the time to notice Jaina's long blonde hair although it was half as long as Sophitia's so it draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were a powerful royal blue color and wore a white and blue flourished pants and shirt.

"Something wrong?" Sophitia suddenly heard her say, making her jump a bit and realizing that she had been staring. Jaina looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh-nah-nothing." Sophitia cleared her throat. "It's just that you're the first human that I've met since I came here and it's actually kind of refreshing." Sophitia explained as she rubbed her nape and looked at her nervously.

"Um-hm, I know the feeling." Jaina stated with a simple smile.

"Although, in truth, I didn't expect for a sorceress with a reputation such as yours to be so..." Sophitia paused as she looked up and down Jaina briefly. "Young." Jaina couldn't help but laugh at that comment.

"Yeah well, just because most of my life had to do with my studies of magic and becoming a real sorceress, it doesn't mean that I have to dress like one as well." Jaina stated with a rather charming grin. She looked down at her feet briefly as if looking for words to say. "But enough about that; do you know where Tyrande might be?"

"Oh, you came here this quickly? I'm impressed." They both turned to find Tyrande and Starstrider walking casually up to them.

"Tyrande, your runner told me about the task at hand dealing with Arthas, but I have a feeling you know more about the threat than I do." Jaina explained. Tyrande was about to speak but was interrupted by someone calling her name. They all turned to find Diana and her group of archers, half-women half-deer, and a walking tree, which Sophitia had trouble keeping her questionable eyes off of.

"Tyrande, the leader of the orcish group told us that you were supposed to be given a letter from an orc chieftain named Thrall, do you know of him?" Diana raised an eyebrow as she gave Tyrande the letter.

Sophitia's focus on the walking tree was taken away as she felt someone place their hands on her shoulders from behind. "It's been too long a day without seeing you, love." Sophitia felt her heart lift inside of her as she knew the only person that would call her that. She spun around to find Taki smiling warmly at her. With a wide, grateful smile she pulled Taki into a warm hug, which Taki happily returned as she nuzzled that soft golden hair she loved so much as it glistened with the colors of the twilight sky.

"Those two are quite smitten aren't they?" Mina heard the hippogryph rider speak softly. At the point Mina wasn't really paying attention to Taki and Sophitia's long-awaited meeting, but then the rider mentioned it she couldn't help but glance at them every few seconds.

"I don't know; I don't really take much notice into the matter. I let them do and think what they want, to a certain extent of course but they can continue once I'm not present." Mina stated simply as she turned back to Tyrande and Diana as well as this cloaked newcomer. Mina raised an eyebrow as she turned and met the starlit gaze of the rider, her bangs still covering her left eye and half of her cheek.

"Why should a Night elf like yourself care about love between humans?" Mina asks out of curiosity. The rider shrugged.

"It just catches my eye every once and a while, human or not." She stated simply as she turned back to Tyrande, who appeared to have some trouble reading the letter.

"I will translate this in my quarters, I can focus more intently in there." Tyrande stated softly to Jaina, who nodded in agreement. Tyrande turned to face her warriors and veteran. "You have done well. You are dismissed to your housing trees, I will announce the meanings of this letter surely by tomorrow." Tyrande proclaimed as she turned and headed up to her quarters. "Jaina, follow me. You three may follow me as well if you wish, this letter might have something to do with this 'Soul Edge'." Tyrande spoke to Mina, Taki, and Sophitia, who looked at each other.

"Why not?" Taki spoke up. "Better then finding things out later I suppose."

Mina turned to the rider. "Should I be nervous?" Mina didn't look her straight in the eye.

"Nervous? You fought orcs, you're on a mission to destroy two evils, you've met and are going to meet many races, and you've ridden on a hippogryph and quite well might I add." The rider spoke as if they were incredible feats for a human, Mina tried to hide her smile from the rider's compliments. "Well, despite the fact that the place that you held on to the hippogryph now has crumpled feathers because you clutched them so hard." The rider spoke simply by the time it came to the only bad part of her bravery.

"Thanks." Mina slowly turned to her with narrowed eyes as she spoke sarcastically, as if she was thinking 'you just _had_ to mention that didn't you?'

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The room was quite dark; you could barely see the dark wooden boards of the upper half of the room. Tyrande went through the letter making sure she had every translation correct; it had been a long while since she had to reuse this kind of knowledge. Mina, Taki and Sophitia sat in the three wooded chairs by the wall, waiting for Tyrande to finish. Taki and Sophitia, of course, sat next to each other, trying to not fall into the tempting habit of wanting some sort of interaction at the wrong time. Jaina stood next to Tyrande's desk, arms folded, hugging her staff to her chest.

The only light within the room was four long-handled torches that hung on the lower walls and was bright enough so that the floor and dark ceiling could just barely be seen. Jaina took a quick look around the room.

"Where's Malfurion?" She asked Tyrande with a look of curiosity. "Isn't he always with you, unless put back to sleep beneath the earth?" Tyrande merely blinked rather slowly but didn't lift her eyes from the parchment.

"He's not here." Tyrande spoke simply although Jaina could hear the sigh escape her lips. "He's tending to the lands near the World Tree and doesn't know when he might be back."

"Oh." Jaina had no idea how to reply to that; she was familiar with love but it had been a long while since she had experienced it. She no longer needed to worry about it when Tyrande finally raised her eyes from the parchment.

"To put his letter simply, Thrall's homes and lands have become corrupted and have asked us and the Alliance to help him eliminate the threat. He has very few bases left and asks for our aid. Has he spoken to you Jaina?" Tyrande announced as she turned to Jaina, who nodded.

"I've received a letter from him much like the one you hold in your hand. An alliance would be a wise thing to do seeing as to how if we help him he may help us against Arthas and this new sword you speak of." Jaina explained.

"It isn't new." Sophitia suddenly spoke, feeling her hand being stroked by Taki's. Jaina turned to her with a look of intrigue. "I've fought against it and its power of destruction and corruption is immense. I'm sure you believe the same about this Frostmourne."

Jaina's eyes softened. "Its power of corruption is..." She looked down as if trying to recall a memory. "Unfair." Tyrande raised an eyebrow at Jaina's statement. "I will go to Thrall and if you could send some of your elves as aid it would most certainly be helpful." Jaina stated sternly.

"Alright-"

"It is certainly _not_ alright!" What looked like another Night elf burst through the doors and yelled into the once silent room. The four humans all raised their eyebrows at the woman; her long aqua hair was in a ponytail and was one foot away from the ground. Her black helmet covered everything but her mouth, half of her cheeks, long lavender ears which poked through the helmet's sides, and her eyes which had a green tint to them unlike the other night elves' blue tinted starlit eyes.

The part of her face that was showing alone made her look as if her personality had no room for mercy of any kind. Her huge armor covered her shoulders and a dark green material draped around her beneath the guards. Her black armor looked as though it was all one solid piece of metal. The weapon at her side made Mina's eyes go wide; a large hoop-shaped piece of metal with what looked like blade tips along the outside.

Tyrande sighed and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand as if she knew this was going to be a long night. "I was waiting for you to show up Maiev." Tyrande spoke simply. "Actually I'm glad you came because while I was translating a letter given to me I had already made arrangement of who should go and speak to Thrall." Tyrande stated.

The woman named Maiev straightened herself up, keeping her eyes locked on Tyrande's. "Oh yeah? And what might these arrangements be?" Maiev folded her arms over her chest and had a look on her face as if she had no beliefs in Tyrande's ideals.

"You, actually, will be going to Thrall's along with Jaina, Taki and Mina. Sophitia and Shandris Feathermoon will go to find Kael'Thalas of the Blood elves. Perhaps Shandris and Sophitia can better tell them of the matters at hand since my runner didn't tell Jaina all that was needed to be said." Tyrande explained simply. Maiev seemed unmoved.

"Um-hm. And you expect me to keep an eye on both of these outsiders?" Maiev turned and gave a rather cold look to Taki and Mina. Mina was a bit nervous by this but Taki seemed unmoved then slowly returned a dark look to Maiev.

"No, I don't even think they need to me watched at all, but to make you feel better you can watch over Taki, or to put it better, be partners in hand." Both Taki and Maiev's eyes went wide with shock.

"What?" Taki and Maiev both shouted in unison. Taki leaned towards Tyrande in her chair while Maiev's crossed arms dropped while both Taki's and Maiev's mouths slacking open.

"Well since Taki is a demon huntress and you are a warden I think that you two will get along just fine. Mina and Naisha I will leave in partners in hand as well." Tyrande stated as if it was nothing.

Maiev's eyes went even wider. "WHAT?" Mina was surprised that the windows within the dark brown upper walls didn't shatter at the sound of Maiev's scream. "But Naisha's MY faithful watcher! She's MY second in command!" Maiev shouted as she pointed at her upper chest with a shaking hand.

"Well, you should be pleased that you two will be on the same mission together. If I were you I'd trust in my command Maiev." Tyrande's voice softened as she leaned on her desk towards Maiev.

"Yes well I _don't_." Maiev spoke harshly as she crossed her arms again and looked away stubbornly. She paused for a moment. "Fine...Fine, I'll go along with this for now, at least _someone_ can keep an eye on those two outsiders." Maiev kept her harsh voice as she spoke and gave another dark look to the two who would be coming with her and the Watchers, her own group of Night elves devoted to Maiev alone unless told to trust another, which was a rare thing.

Taki returned Maiev's dark look and was about to stand and face her but was brought back down by Sophitia.

"Uh-erm-it's been a long day for us, do you mind if we leave you to carry out your commands?" Sophitia asked Tyrande quickly as if trying to save Taki from doing something drastic.

"Of course, go ahead." Tyrande smiled as she watched the three of them leave, ignoring Maiev's look of distrust.

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"Nice one Sophitia." Mina spoke as they walked down the many steps of the ziggurat. "I'm tired enough as it is without knowing that we have to go to that orc chieftain's place." Mina stretched her arms and back as she spoke.

"Me too." Taki rolled her shoulders and neck.

"Taki, before we sleep, and since the possibility of us splitting again tomorrow is very high, can I show you someplace quickly?" Sophitia had a glint of hope in her eyes, which Taki could very well see.

"Erm, sure, of course." Taki smiled charmingly.

Sophitia turned to Mina. "Sorry Mina but-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Mina turned and headed deeper into the capital city, wearing a smirk on her face; she knew that Taki and Sophitia needed to make up for lost hours.

Sophitia turned to Taki and smiled widely as she took her hand and brought her into the woods and to the very same place that Tyrande brought her, only it seemed ten times more beautiful than before.

The moonlight dripped through the open patched of leaves and reflected itself upon the rippling movements of the two waterfalls and even upon the lush grass that was soft enough for them to sleep upon.

Dozens if not hundreds of both silver and gold colored butterflies flutter though the air, upon the waters wherever it was calm and into the trees, which had blue colored lanterns hanging at an even distance from each other.

"Mesmerizing, isn't it?" Sophitia spun around to meet Taki's almond brown eyes which were reflecting the moonlight as well, making Sophitia lock eyes with hers. Taki grinned as she suddenly swept Sophitia into a warm embrace.

"Not as much as you." Taki whispered in a deep, soft voice that sent shivers down Sophitia's spine as Taki took her lips upon her own. Sophitia closed her eyes as she leaned into her love's kiss and wrapped her hands around Taki's neck, feeling Taki's hand run up and down her back while the other was on her nape.

They pulled apart but their embrace didn't break, letting their foreheads touch and lean on each other. They both smiled affectionately at each other before Sophitia looked down at her lips again and gently brushed them with her own, she felt Taki return it.

"Come." Taki spoke as she took Sophitia's hand went to a tall tree near the rivers edge. The plain of grass around the tree was shaped more or less like a small hill. Taki sat down upon the small hill and brought Sophitia down with her, letting Sophitia lay herself upon her. Sophitia grinned as she snuggled on top of Taki, wrapping her arms around her waist and her head resting on Taki's neck.

In turn, Taki stroked her side softly and undid the tie of her braid, watching as Sophitia's golden hair gracefully slipped from her fingers. Loving the feeling of Sophitia's hair on her fingertips, she ran her fingers softly through her hair, making Sophitia sigh from the soothing feeling Taki was giving her and slowly running a hand up and down Taki's ribcage, making Taki breath deeply.

"Hmm, the Greek boys you're surrounded with missed their chance of getting to you before I did, poor them." Taki noted as Sophitia smirked.

"Before I had to carry out Hephaestus' bidding I was always known as mild-mannered and meek. I haven't changed much since then in that perspective." Sophitia spoke simply. Taki suddenly burst into giggles.

"Oh please!" Taki continued to laugh at Sophitia's statement. Sophitia rose herself from her living pillow and raised an eyebrow at Taki.

"What's so funny?" Sophitia became utterly confused since Taki had some trouble stopping herself from her laughter.

"Oh come on! (Giggle) You may have a face like an angel but I can see the devil in your eyes at times." Taki noted, her giggles slowly dying down. Sophitia was about to say something in defense but stopped as she realized that she didn't know what to say. Sophitia blushed as she looked down.

"Well... _ahem_, it's just because of your influence." Sophitia stated in a low voice as she looked at Taki in a sheepish way she tried to hide.

"Um-hm." Taki smirked at her then gestured for her to lie back down upon her. Sophitia shifted herself slightly as she laid her head back down on Taki's shoulder. Taki kissed her forehead.

"I don't really care about them; a lot of them can be so immature sometimes. They just don't see me as a woman but as a warrior who'd stand up for them when told to and they don't have the nerve to do it themselves or even call one of the guards of the town." Sophitia felt the soft white skin of Taki's upper chest slowly with her fingers as her gaze softened at the memories. "They don't care about who I am inside or how I look; they only care about me as a protector and sentinel." She felt Taki slowly lift her chin with her fingers and met Taki's focused eyes. Sophitia's emerald eyes stared into Taki's chocolate eyes, neither wavered, in looked like bare trees looking at its own leaves or the trees in autumn and spring.

"If they truly believe that then they are all fools. They obviously just can't see the epic-beauty that lives in both inside and outside of you." Taki slowly let her fingers trail down Sophitia's cheek and the side of her neck, making Sophitia gasp silently and blush at Taki's words.

"E-epic beauty?" Sophitia's voice turned into a whisper.

"Um-hm." Taki nodded softly. "And a beauty such as yourself deserves a gift from one who's deeply in love with you." She spoke softly as she reached for her money sack tied to the belt of her body suit. Sophitia's eyes turned into one of surprise.

"A gift? Really?" Sophitia reached out for the small object in Taki's closed palm but Taki pulled her hand away.

"_But_, I want to see how badly you want to see it." Taki got out from underneath Sophitia and stood in the center of the open area. She placed her hands behind her back and smiled coyly at Sophitia, who looked both intrigued and confused. "You have to take it from me." Taki grinned widely.

"Oh?" Sophitia's eyebrow rose as she stood herself up and walked slowly over so that she was a foot away from Taki. "You promise to really give it to me?" Sophitia asked as if she was suspicious.

"Of course, and then some." Taki ginned as she saw Sophitia's eyes travel to her stomach as if she thought she could see the gift right through her and was trying to figure out strategies to get passed Taki.

Sophitia suddenly lunged out at Taki and reached behind Taki's back. Taki immediately jumped out of the way, grinning as widely as ever. Sophitia tried again only to have Taki jump in the other direction. Sophitia pulled back her loose hair behind one ear. She stopped and acted as though she was catching her breath then jumped at Taki again, who knew what Sophitia was trying to do.

"Faking me out won't help you, love." Taki winked at Sophitia playfully as she stood in front of the two waterfalls and shallow stream. Sophitia thought of another tactic, one that she'd never used until now but she figured it'd be worth it to see Taki's reaction.

"Alright, then I suppose I'll have to try something different." She pulled her hair back so that her loose hair was behind her back and pulled it up again only she kept it there and let cool night air touch her neck. Of course this also had a second affect of raising her breasts a bit higher, some access sweat from lunging at Taki made her skin glisten from the moonlight. She also took the idea of half-closing her eyelids in a sensual way and biting her lower lip. Sophitia tried not to giggle as Taki's jaw began to slack as she stared intently at this goddess of a woman standing before her that was surrounded with gold and silver butterflies.

Finally having the opportunity, Sophitia jumped right onto Taki, making them both fall onto the ground.

"Oh ho ho." Taki laughed within her throat. "Appropriate strategy, I really like it you should use it more often." Taki smiled suggestively, realizing that Sophitia was stratling herself on top of Taki. Sophitia returned a playful smile as she reached for Taki's enclosed hand. Taki quickly pulled away and started squirming hastily to get out of in between Sophitia's legs but stopped as she heard Sophitia gasp rather loudly.

"Taki don't do that." Sophitia spoke in a low, deep voice. Taki noticed that her face was a bit flustered. Taki grinned naughtily.

"Well that's what you get for trying to seduce me you lovely temptress of mine." Taki slipped out between Sophitia's legs. Sophitia caught this and pounced on her again, Sophitia's arm trying to catch Taki's.

"Well the seduction I gave you to lower your guard is what _you_ get for being so stubborn and mischievous!" Sophitia defended as she came closer and closer to her target hidden in Taki's hand, feeling both their bodies squirm on each other.

"Yes but from I remember you once thought that that's what you found charming about me." Taki noted coyly as she slipped completely out from underneath Sophitia's body and ran a few feet away. Sophitia growled dully at Taki's sneakiness and slippery ways, although all these attributes just made her more excited.

She ran forward and took Taki's hands within hers, Sophitia smiled triumphantly but it faded as Taki jumped slightly and, using Sophitia's arm strength to hold her, swung herself between Sophitia's legs. In shock, Sophitia let go of Taki's hands and pulled her skirt tight against her thigh as she backed away and blushed. After a few short seconds she raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"See anything good?" She asked coyly.

"Oh, nothing new." Taki grinned widely as she spoke simply. This was Sophitia's last straw; she ran forward and tried to grab Taki. Taki jumped out of the way but, to her surprise, Sophitia caught her, swung her around and pushed her to the ground, Sophitia on top and her legs were once again stratled. Sophitia took her wrists and pushed them into the lush grass.

"Okay." Sophitia huffed. "I have you; no more slippery escapes, squirming, dodging, or talk from your distracting tongue." Sophitia's hand slowly slipped to Taki's enclosed hand. "Now give me the gift that you say a... epic-beauty like myself deserves." Sophitia huffed in a soft tone.

"Okay." Taki was a bit out of breath herself. She stopped Sophitia before she could open her hand. "Kiss me first. It isn't a trick, just kiss me." Sophitia blinked as she moved herself down a bit so that she could better angle herself and while keeping her hand on Taki's wrists, pressed her lips against Taki's, taking a minute to feel Taki's breath caressing her cheek. She sighed as she leaned more into the kiss. Taki deepened the kiss making Sophitia gasp slightly in surprise, but sighed again as she returned with the same passion. She moved her hands up to Taki's, cupping them within her own.

After what seemed like eternity, Sophitia slowly and reluctantly pulled away, leaving with one brief and bare kiss on Taki's lips. "Can I have my gift now, besides you?" Sophitia smiled lovingly. Taki returned the smile.

"Of course, love." Sophitia let Taki sit up a bit so that she can present her gift to her better. "Give me your hand." Sophitia did as she was told. Taki held her hand gently within her own as she stroked it with her thumb. She brought the ring from her hand and heard Sophitia gasp and she slowly placed it on her middle finger, what a feeling it gave the two of them, it was pleasurably indescribable.

Taki took the time to admire the way it looked on her finger, the aquamarine stone matched her skin tone beautifully and the moonlight made it look even better. "It looks stunning on yo-" Taki stopped as she noticed that Sophitia's eyes were watering up with tears, her fingers covered her mouth gently in shock. She couldn't take her eyes off of Taki's gift of love to her.

"Taki I... I don't know what to say..." Sophitia choked out a small sob. Taki smiled warmly as she took Sophitia's hand within both of her own and held Sophitia's fingers close to her chest.

"It's a promise ring, the promise being that I will love you for always and when I say 'I love you' I'd say it a million times because saying it once just doesn't match the strength of my love and affection for you. All you have to do is accept it." Taki could feel her own eyes swell up with tears and crying was something she hardly ever did. She didn't have to wait long for Sophitia's answer; Sophitia wrapped her arms tightly around Taki's neck.

"Of course I accept!" Sophitia could feel the tears streaming down her face. "I love you! I love you! I love you so much Taki! Please stay with me always!" Sophitia sobbed, rubbing Taki's cheek with her own, feeling her own desperation within her words.

"I promise you, that's a promise that I'll never break." Taki wrapped her arms around Sophitia's back and nuzzled her neck. She picked Sophitia up and carried her over to were they originally laid by the tree. She gently placed her down and laid herself down right next to her, letting Sophitia snuggle up to her as tightly as she wished, the tighter the better, Taki felt. "I love you, a million times, my Sophie." Taki spoke softly in her ear as she nuzzled her hair. Sophitia leaned into Taki's nuzzling, enjoying the opportunity of smelling Taki's soft hair.

"And I you, my Taki." Sophitia spoke softly as she rested her head upon Taki's upper chest, each loving the feel of each other's warm body, never wanting to move and never wanting this night to ever end. A wistful-sounding flute suddenly echoed softly through the trees. Taki wanted to get up and see who or where it was coming from but she felt so content in Sophitia's arms and Sophitia looked so peaceful with her eyes shut and in her own dream world that she didn't care who played it, she just let the soothing sound lull the both of them to sleep, hoping that she and Sophitia could meet in each other's dreams and the music would make them stay in their dreams.

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Wow, this was a long one. Well, I hope it was alright. I hope the scene wasn't too perverted to you I tried to even things out between perversion and love. I tried to make Jaina as youthful and likable as possible and I always thought of Maiev as being stubborn at least when around people she didn't trust like humans and sometime Tyrande. I couldn't do much with Sylvanas although I wanted to, I can't have her do too much just yet.

BTW: If you readers happen to come by my name on another author's review page as 'anonymous' or if you see Silvermoonlight GJ and her anonymous review doesn't label her as Silvermoonlight GJ (not logged on) or if we sound like we're nonshoujo-ai mashers and are very lashy and rash, let me know. People who don't like us are putting up bogus reviews in our names and are lashing out at other author's work, the author at this point being Jadephoenix84. Yeah, we're having a wonderful time with this mess .


	6. On the Road Again

Do not own SC or Warcraft characters. The orcs will show up in this one of course and I hope you understand the trolls' written dialogue. I'm trying to make this not very long-winded since these are traveling scenes.

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Chapter 6: On the Road Again

Mina practiced with her Zanbatou within an open area of the woods very close to the capital city that was Ashenvale. She figured it would be better to tone her skills the best that she could before she had to leave to the orcish camps; who would know when she and her companions would be 'accidentally' attacked by another group of orcs along the way.

This training session was based on balance as well as knowledge of the things around her, so thus she blindfolded herself for the influence of using her senses. Trying to bring her staff as close to her body as possible so that she can dodge her own swings more rapidly as she twirled her Zanbatou over her head between her fingers. She swiftly moved it to her sides and spun her Zanbatou from side to side.

She noticed that her weapon slowly became angled in her hand in a way that she wouldn't have wanted and, fortunately with her fast reflexes that grew with each painful mistake that she made in the past, stopped her Zanbatou from whacking her square in the face at a fast speed by using the palm of her hand and stopped it when it was merely inches from her nose.

She sighed slightly in relief and began to spin her Zanbatou around her again.

"Hmm, nice save." Mina heard someone speak to her back corner and seemed to be a fair distance away by the volume of their voice. The voice was one that sounded a little familiar but Mina couldn't put her finger on who it was.

'It isn't Taki's; Taki's voice a little deeper than hers.' Mina noted in her head. 'And by this woman's voice she sounds older than Sophitia.' Mina didn't want to take her blindfold off until she could pinpoint where the person was by waiting for her to speak again.

"Want to try testing your ears a bit more?" The woman spoke in an implying voice. Mina whipped her head around to where she believed the person was only to hear a quick _'shink' _sound coming from where the woman seemed to be. Mina's eyes widened beneath her blindfold and her body tensed as she heard what sounded like a boomerang or possibly a set of daggers spinning towards her.

Not having time to take the blindfold off, she took her Zanbatou in both hands and swung it from one side to the other, trying to hit at the place where the spinning noise was strong. She felt the force of the object as it hit a side of her Zanbatou and listened as it hit and bounced upon the ground. Mina exhaled slowly, keeping her position in place.

"Humph, luck I'm sure." Mina heard the woman speak simply. "I want to try three this time." Mina tensed again as she heard the 'shinks' again and the spinning sound that was louder than before. Mina did the same method to defend herself only she swung more times. She felt one hit her blade, the second hit in between her hands and the third hit didn't hit her weapon but just the top of her shoulder.

Yelping at the quick burning sensation as the object cut her shoulder, making her grip her shoulder slightly. Tearing off her blindfold she looked at the person in annoyance for intruding and giving her a wound, although it was small.

A Night elf sat upon a tree limb, letting her side lean against the tree as her small leaf-like cape draped behind her. Her hair was long and very straight and seemed to be pushed back by the small, plum colored helmet with white vine-like waves she wore on her forehead and covered the sides of her face, some of her cheeks and her nose bone. Her face and complexion were quite slender.

"Not bad overall, you just have to try and not be so tense; it takes your focus away." She noted simply as she smiled faintly. Mina narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"And who may I ask are you and what did you throw at me?" Mina asked in a rather demanding voice. The woman's smile widened as she slipped off of the limb and walked over to Mina, crossing her hands over her chest.

"I will be accompanying you to the Orc encampment. What I used are called moon glaives." Naisha pulled out a purple metal ball with gold spirals on its flat sides and laid it in the palm of her hand. She pressed into the center releasing three small blades that circled the ball. "They're quite handy when you throw more than one at a time." She noted simply. "I'm Naisha Nightshadow." Mina raised an eyebrow.

"Oh so you're the one that that psycho woman Maiev was raving about." Mina noted aloud. Naisha pulled back as if she was stunned at how Mina described her.

"Psycho woman?" Naisha looked up as if she was trying to think as she crossed her arms over her chest. She closed her eyes and laughed slightly as she brought her head back down. "Yeah, I guess Maiev can be a little high-strong and quick tempered at times and loves to intimidate people but she wouldn't likely kill you if you're not a demon." Naisha smiled reassuringly. "Believe me, I've been with her long enough to know that underneath that hunk of armor she always wears is a heart full of compassion." Naisha spoke as if she had no doubt if what she believed about Maiev.

Mina raised an eyebrow. "The trick is finding it, eh?" Mina smiled slightly at her comment. Naisha kept her smile but looked down at her feet briefly as if she didn't find it so amusing.

"Well once you've spent enough time with her you'll understand." Naisha noted simply.

"Yeah but I won't be the one spending time with her; my friend Taki is." Mina assured as if she was relieved, but became worried as the personas of Taki and Maiev. "Of course she can have a temperament as well so I'd better pack some war helmets for us when the two of them begin to feud." Mina noted to herself as she looked to the corner of her eye in thought, which was interrupted by Naisha's laughter.

"If you say so." Naisha giggled. "Where is this Taki anyway? I haven't met her yet." Naisha placed her hands behind her back. Mina sighed.

"I myself don't even want to know after she went out last night with my other friend Sophitia. I haven't seen them since. So I'll just wait for them to show up, I suppose." Mina raised an eyebrow to herself as she left to go back into the capital, hearing Naisha's footsteps following behind her.

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Jaina, Tyrande and Maiev observed their mass of warriors from into an army of three hundred ready for the toughest of travels from the top of the staircase of Tyrande's ziggurat. Tyrande had a proud look on her face as she watched her sisters form into their proper lines, thinking what a pride-filling sight this is to watch your own sisters grow and prepare themselves for an honorable battle, to be willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of others, even though killing isn't the issue when going on these trips in the first place.

Jaina watched with eyes that shifted between the warriors and the horizon, taking in the view of the mass of woods around her as the tops of the trees reflect the sun's light as she gripped her staff tightly in her hand as she leaned upon it.

Maiev wasn't really paying all that much attention in the matter either way. She stared at the warriors with no hint of emotion in her eyes except slight annoyance. Why she had to go on such a menial mission of going to the Orcs encampment to ask for an alliance she didn't know. It just all sounded so stupid and dishonorable to her to ask for aid from a race that was originally their enemy, it just made her feel as if her own race couldn't survive on their own. But that wasn't the major issue that was on her mind, the major issue was Naisha.

'Great... just what I need, for Naisha, my personally sentry and my... my best friend since childhood to be stuck with a human. That Taki looked like an annoyance and a smart-ass when the glared back at me. At least Naisha isn't stuck with her I suppose. That other girl looked a bit respectful of people's space when I looked at her, so I guess I have nothing to worry about.' Maiev thought as she folded her arm over her chest stubbornly and closed her eyes briefly. 'Just why humans of all races?' She complained to herself.

"The warriors will be split into two groups; two-hundred on the first and one-hundred on the second. Shandris will lead the group of one-hundred to the Blood elves near the human cities along with Sophitia. Maiev, Taki, Naisha, Mina and Jaina, you five will lead the two-hundred to the orcs." Tyrande explained, not taking her eyes off of her warriors. Maiev blinked as her train of thought was interrupted and resumed her face of annoyance.

"Where are the three humans anyway? They should've been here long ago." Maiev noted impatiently as she looked to the side, away from the other two next to her.

"Have patience Maiev, they haven't forgotten. They're coming as we speak." Tyrande replied simply. Maiev instinctively looked down the ziggurat staircase and noticed that Mina was walking up with Naisha at her side.

Mina watched the other warriors prepare themselves during their endless ruckus and talking with awe at the size of the party as she walked up the staircase. She never thought she'd be joining travels with hundreds of elves.

She smiled as soon as she saw Tyrande and Jaina's greeting faces but could only half-smile while trying to be polite to Maiev, who looked at her in a face that showed slight scorn. Maiev's face suddenly changed to a welcoming smile as she turned to Naisha, who smiled back in the same fashion.

"Have any problems yet with your..." Maiev stopped and closed her eyes almost tightly as she felt her cheek twitch as if saying what she was trying to say was hurting her inside, even though the word was 'partner', it was a word she never thought she would say when it's in relation to Naisha.

"No. No problems." Naisha finished simply, saving Maiev from anymore looks of discomfort. She made sure that she stood in between Mina and Maiev. "You shouldn't worry yourself so much." Naisha spoke as if she was slightly concerned for Maiev.

Maive raised an eyebrow at her beneath her helmet. "I don't worry myself; I just have a right to be concerned you know." She leaned towards Naisha slightly as she spoke in a low voice.

"Well then don't over concern yourself." Naisha raised an eyebrow in return but giving a faint smile.

"Looks like your friends are back, Mina." Jaina spoke up as she looked out toward the crowd. All five immediately turned to find the two walking around the mass of talking warriors, hand in hand. Taki led Sophitia to the staircase, both glanced at the sight of all the warriors that gathered so fast since last night or possibly that morning.

Their finger-entangled hands didn't let go even after they had reached the staircase, they didn't want to. Waking up next to each other and in each other's arms was one of the best things either could do to make the morning worth waking up to. Taki turned and flashed a smile at Sophitia, who gladly returned it.

Sophitia laughed slightly every time that the memory of trying to fully awake Taki by the stream's water and flicking it at her with her foot came to her, especially when Taki jumped at the feeling of water hitting her skin.

"A bit late, aren't we?" Maiev spoke cockily with her arms crossed as she watched the two as they strode up the last few steps of the staircase.

"We just slept in a little longer than we would've hoped." Sophitia answered before Taki could with a cocky remark, knowing that Taki would do that after noticing that Taki's arm started to tense slightly. "Do we really need so many warriors?" Sophitia turned to Tyrande, knowing that she would be the one who'd organize this.

"Of course, there are many hostile creatures within these and surrounding woods, barons and mountains so you can never have enough." Tyrande explained simply. "They seem to be ready, so whenever you are ready you can head off; I need to stay here being the only high ranked person to watch over the capital." They all looked down to see that all the warriors were now neatly arranged in lines. Taki and Sophitia looked at each other gloomily.

"It's only going to be a few days, the tasks aren't that hard." Taki noted in a low voice so that the others wouldn't eavesdrop as she squeezed Sophitia's hand tighter. Sophitia returned it as she let her head rest on Taki's shoulder.

"Yes... but like the first day wasn't hard enough." She noted as she closed her eyes and leaned onto Taki's body a bit more. Taki wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her hand to brush away Sophitia's bangs and extra strands of hair behind her ear. Tyrande sighed silently at the spectacle of the two humans, feeling their pain; knowing it quite well. She had an idea to help but she had to be there to summon it. Her gaze softened as she looked to the cracks within the stone of the ziggurat.

"Let's not waist time and get this over with." Maiev spoke up as she hurried down to her group of Watchers. The rest, including Naisha and Jaina sighed and headed down to their groups.

By the time Sophitia and Taki came to their groups Taki reluctantly let go of Sophitia's waist. Sophitia raised her hand to Taki's chin and brought her lips down to touch hers. She felt Taki wrap her arms around her waist again but tighter as she wrapped her arms around her neck and shoulders, feeling Taki's kiss deepen. Taki ran a hand up and down her back, she felt oblivious to the other elven warriors surrounding them as she tilted her head and kissed more tenderly, leaning into Sophitia's softness.

"_Ahem_." Taki and Sophitia's eyes snapped open as they realized that they were being watched and hastily yet reluctantly broke apart. Next to them was a woman with light-aqua hair and wearing a cloak but had her hood down, showing her long ears. She had a long, beautifully crafted bow with a glowing blue string at her side. She smiled and raised an eyebrow at them. "Which one of you is Sophitia?" The woman's eyes followed Taki's pointing finger, she turned to the golden-haired girl. "I understand that you're going to be my 'partner'. I'm Shandris Feathermoon, I hope you're ready."

"I am, just give me a few minutes please." Shandris could see the glint of hope in Sophitia's eyes and nodded as she turned to the head of the group. Sophitia turned to Taki and kissed her briefly on the cheek. "Hurry back." Taki kissed her on the forehead in return.

"I plan to." Taki lifted Sophitia's hand and kissed the very finger that held her gift; Sophitia smiled brightly as she did so and kissed her lips briefly for the last time.

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'Damn teleportation... I thought I lost him.' Sylvanas folded her arms over her chest as she closed her eyes in a pout as she walked through the dark forests. The necromancer walked right behind her with a grin on her face knowing how annoyed he made Sylvanas by popping up in front of her after she'd stopped.

"Sorry for disappointing you Sylvanas. I hope that you've found a better way for finding the person we're after then looking around aimlessly, our Lick King would not be pleased with your enthusiasm." He noted warningly. Sylvanas turned her head towards him but just enough for him to see her nose poking out of the hood.

"Do you really think I give a damn about him and what he thinks of me?" Sylvanas spoke harshly. "And why don't you help a bit in trying to find this person? Try and sense if there are any other outsiders around that might tell us of her whereabouts." Sylvanas suggested as her voice slowly calmed itself.

"Isn't it a bit of a long shot to try and sense where all the outsiders may be and asking each where this person may be?" The necromancer raised an eyebrow thinking how idiotic the idea sounded as if he thought Sylvanas was an amateur at tracking.

"How many outsiders come to Azeroth every day? Tell me that." She spoke as if she knew she had a point; it was very rare for a human from the outside world to waltz in and live. Sylvanas was answered with the necromancer's silence.

"Alright, let's just stop for a moment so that I can focus more deeply." The two stopped, Sylvanas didn't take the time to turn to him completely; she just turned her head slightly to hear his answer.

The necromancer's eyes became still and distant as he dived into his own trance, his eyes swimming into an endless haze of black and ghostly white at the corners of his eyes. Cloudy forms slowly formed in front of him as his eyes circled them at random paces. The background slowly showed itself but remained in a dimmed color. One figure took its color of a red female body and black hair, her arms bent behind her head and walking through the woods, look into it aimlessly. She stood next to an elf with broad armor, long hair and a helmet.

"Exactly how far is this encampment anyway? If you don't mind my asking that is." The black-haired woman asked in a shadowy voice, not turning to the elf. The elf looked at her briefly then fixed her eyes back on the path ahead of her.

"About a four day walk, it's just before Razorfen Downs. Why do you ask?" The elf raised an eyebrow.

"Just wondering." The black-haired woman spoke plainly with a silent sigh. "And how far is where Shandris and them going from where we are?" The elf looked up to the skies with a sighed as if she knew why the woman dressed in red was asking all these questions.

"A two and a half days walk." The elf stated plainly, and paused. "Don't tell me you miss that other outsider already! Do you know how pathetic that is?" She complained as she turned back to the woman in red with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, how would you know? You look as though you've never been in love before." She spoke in defense. The elf just looked at her in silence, not knowing how to speak in her defense. "You just don't know what she'd capable of; she's has more strength than you think. She shattered one of the Soul Edge blades and that is an incredible feat for any warrior to do." She continued to speak in what seemed to be her love's defense.

"And you know this how? By a rumor?" The elf chuckled as if she didn't believe her. The black-haired woman looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"I witnessed it!" The human yelled in defense. The elf just looked at her plainly, then turned to look back towards the path. The cloudy figures slowly dispersed as the necromancer guided himself out of his trance. Finally landing into his original place behind Sylvanas and the darkness slowly leaving his eyes as the feeling of his limbs came back to him.

"Well?" Sylvanas as rather impatiently. "Did you find out anything?" The necromancer took in a deep breath.

"I've gotten a piece of information about a girl who shattered a blade of Soul Edge, perhaps she is the threat to us since Nightmare seems to have the other blade. She isn't where Arthas informed us." The necromancer informed.

"Do you know where this girl is then?" Sylvanas asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing that this may be more difficult than she thought. The necromancer paused feeling like a fool for not digging deeper for information and impressing Sylvanas.

"No, that information I wasn't able to receive. The woman that I saw in my vision gave the information of the girl." He explained. Sylvanas sighed in annoyance.

"Fine... Then do you know where this woman is?" Sylvanas' annoyance showed itself through her voice.

"Yes, their heading to the Orcs' encampment, before Razorfen Downs. The woman seemed to have feelings for our target. What? Do you want me to pry into her head to find out where the girl is?" He flattened out his beard and spoke as if he didn't believe that she would even go that far.

"Actually, yes." Sylvanas grinned evilly. "I need you to pinpoint where this girl is."

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Sophitia shifted her bag on her shoulder; the weight of both her weapons on one arm was difficult but kept pressing on, being semi-used to the weight.

"Is the terrain ahead of us a tough one to cross." Sophitia asked, just out of curiosity.

"Not very, we have a three day walk ahead of us." Shandris spoke simply. Sophitia sighed slightly, trying to ease her tensing muscles on her back. "So uh..." Shandris started but didn't know how to continue. "You and that other human are... erm, pretty close, aren't you?" She asked out of no where. "What do you see in that Taki woman anyway?" Sophitia raised her eyebrows at that question, wondering why someone completely different then her would wonder such things.

"Well..." That was a question she really didn't know how to answer, but wanted to. "She's just so beautiful and special to me, and I love watching her fight she's just so fast and mysterious, it's just so fun to watch." Shandris could tell that she was getting into this as a rather naughty smile spread across Sophitia's face as she was lost in thought. Sophitia ran a hand through her hair. "She makes things come out of me that I never thought I could do before."

She stopped as her eyes went wide as she realized what she said out loud and with the addition of the uncontrollably sultry voice. She looked to her side hoping that not too many people heard that but to see an archer looking at her in the corner of her eye and her mouth slacking a bit, but when Sophitia caught her gaze the archer fumbled for a place to fix her eyes upon as she cleared her throat.

"Oh gods, this is a wonderful way to start my reputation to this race." Sophitia whimpered in a low voice as her hand dragged across her forehead in aggravation and embarrassment. She heard Shandris snigger next to her.

"Have difficulties keeping your emotions within your head, eh?" Shandris raised an eyebrow while a grin spread across her face.

"Yes that happens to me often, it can become annoying as you may well notice." Sophitia replied with a sigh, hearing Shandris reply with a laugh. Sophitia thought it would be best to change the subject. "So you know the way to this Kael'Thalas?"

"Actually no; Tyrande just showed me the direction of where they may be. I've never personally had relations with blood elves before so I don't exactly know the way." Shandris spoke plainly as if not knowing the way to someplace was an everyday thing to her. Sophitia just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh... well... that's reassuring." Sophitia spoke sarcastically just to poke fun at Shandris for making Sophitia speak her deepest thoughts in front of some of the archers. Shandris raised an eyebrow at her, making Sophitia hold in a smirk.

"It's not like I'm going to lead us off of a cliff because I don't know the directions, but there are many merchant shops around these forests and surely we'll find a map in one of them." Shandris informed rather defensively.

"Okay, if you say so, I just hope you know the way to the shops." Sophitia spoke in a sarcastic tone again. Shandris gave her a look that clearly said 'smart-ass' making Sophitia laugh in reply.

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Taki and Mina noticed how the landscape of the forest was slowly changing from lush grass soaked with puddles and fully grown fir trees to hard, sandy grounds with less and less moistness in the air and the trees with fan-like trees, almost like palm trees when looked at in a certain angle. The coolness of the forest was slowly left behind the further they went into the mountainous regions of these dry lands underneath an amber colored sun that is close to being hidden behind the jagged mountains.

"Huh, we've traveled quite a ways in a single day." Naisha noted as her eyes skimmed across the mountain and tree tops. She took her normal leisure of riding her, what looked like to Mina, a big mountain lion with black fur and golden eyes. Naisha let her shielded arm fall to her side, seeing that there appeared to be no sign of a threat nearby. "I'd say our four days have decreased to three."

"I'm surprised that we seem to have come this far after Taki and Maiev had refused to stop bickering." Mina spoke up as if she really was surprised. She and Naisha agreed to walk in between Taki and Maiev in hopes of silencing them for the majority of the trip.

"Our disputes are really none of your business, human." Maiev spoke over her shoulder and passed Naisha. She had a very 'high-and-mighty' tone in Mina's view, but she remained silent.

"That goes double for me." Taki suddenly said as she leaned over slightly to the Korean next to her. Mina raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, there's one agreement." Mina turned to Naisha, who laughed within her throat. Naisha stopped short as she realized that Maiev wasn't even paying attention, staring at the ground in front of her.

"Something wrong, Maiev?" Naisha leaned towards her commander. Maiev didn't take her eyes off of the ground.

"There are tracks made from the orcs on these sands." Maiev noted simply, although had an eye of suspicion as her eyes followed the dull, innavigable trails.

"Oh good, that means we're getting close." Mina said in a bright tone as she looked about the sandy floor ahead of her for more tracks.

"Yes, but perhaps too close, I'm guessing that the orcs wouldn't be this close to Ashenvale?" Taki said in a rather low voice much like how Maiev's was. Maiev nodded at Taki's thoughts. Mina raised an eyebrow at this and turned to Naisha and Jaina, who walked behind the two.

"Wow, a second agreement and on one day! I'm impressed." Mina stated in a low voice so that only the two closest could hear. Naisha and Jaina chuckled. Maiev suddenly shouted over her shoulder to her Watchers.

"_Asha-seraphin_, sisters!" She watched as her warriors all gave looks and nods of obey.

"That means what?" Mina leaned over to Naisha, who shifted her view to the skies again in thought, trying to find a translation. She leaned down to Mina and spoke in a low voice.

"Basically 'stay on your guard'." She explained simply.

"I don't think we need to worry too much, Maiev. I don't think that a group of orcs or trolls would recklessly attack us." Jaina suddenly spoke from behind in a soft tone.

"I know that you're the only human that Thrall trusts the most, but this is about the other orcs who might not think the same way." Maiev explained, not lifting her eyes to Jaina's.

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"Ha! I knew it!" After a few hours of silence and walking upon pebble paths Shandris finally spotted a merchant shop. Sophitia just smirked; she knew that they would find one she just liked to pick on Shandris for a bit as payback.

"Well? Want to go check to see if there are any maps within?" Sophitia raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what are you waiting for?'. Shandris just raised an eyebrow and gave a faint smile in return as she turned to her warriors and raised a hand for them to stop.

"_Asha-seraphin_ my warriors! Stay and remain alert while I attend to businesses needed for our travels!" Shandris shouted so that all her warriors could hear. They continued to watch as well as talk amongst themselves as they waited for their leader to return. "Want to look with me? Since you want a map as much as I do." Sophitia nodded and followed Shandris into the hut-like shop with two floors and a roof made of straw. The outside made it look like the inside was roomy but it was really rather cramped, it was luck for them that they could fit in well enough to walk normally. Shandris walked ahead of her, looking for rolled up parchments that may be maps.

"Where's the merchant?" Sophitia asked as she realized that their seemed to be nobody else around besides her and Shandris.

"What'cha need?" As if on queue, a slightly high pitched and raspy voice spoke behind her. Sophitia turned around to see that nobody was standing behind her. She felt something tug on the hem of her skirt.

"_Ahem_. Down here." Sophitia looked down to see some sort creature with a long nose and dark, wrinkly skin and redish-brown eyes. His hair looked like the short horse-hair style of her Greek helmets; dark blue hair stuck up from its head and stretched in a straight line going from his forehead to the back of his head and between his pointy ears, with seemed to be a bit shorter than the elves'. The only article of clothing it wore was a white and red cloth that wrapped around its waist, exposing only the outer sides of its legs. Sophitia sputter and pulled back at the sight. She looked down at her skirt and quickly pulled it back against her thigh, fearing that it was so short that it might be able to see up her skirt.

The creature smiled at the corner of his mouth, revealing small fangs. Sophitia felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry; it's just a merchant goblin." Shandris explained. Sophitia was still a bit stunned at the creature's strange appearance that she didn't speak, she just stared at it. "We're looking for maps, one to a place around the Dalaran Ruins. Do you have any?" Shandris asked the troll. The troll rubbed the tips of its thin fingers against his chin in thought.

"Maps eh? I'm da few who's gettin' dese maps so you're 'n luck." The goblin spoke in his strange choice of dialogue as he weaved his way between the two's legs, not caring that both of them jumped to get out of his way. He made his way up to his wooden counter, which was tall and had a small-step wooden ladder with one step that was broken that led to the top of the counter and on the side of that was another ladder to the high shelves of books, scrolls, inks and much more.

On the walls hung cloaks, weapons and armor, and what would've been a bookcase had many differently shaped vials of liquids and potions upon its shelves. "Cou'ja give me a hand 'er two? I been meanin' ta fix dat dere step fer days." Sophitia hand trouble understanding him, but Shandris obviously didn't as she lifted the small troll by his sides with his skinny legs wagging about frantically in the air as his feet left the ground and landed them on the counter top as he balanced himself. "Da probl'm is dat I'sa ain't tall enough ta reach't an' fix 't me'self." He explained as he walked over to the next step ladder and walked across the high shelf, not caring how height he was from the ground. "Dalaran Ruins right?" He asked again and he went through the stack of scrolls.

"Yes, that would be good enough." Shandris replied as she watched him go through the stack as he mumbled to himself.

"A'ight let's jus' see wha' I have 'n ma inventory." He spoke to himself, each scroll that he finished looking through ended up being tossed over the side and hitting the wooden planked ground below. "No... no... map o' Silverpine Forest-no, map o' da Barrens-no." He lifted another scroll and looked at it with eyes of confusion as he looked at it at different angles, then he finally read the title of the scroll. "Blueprints ta makin' da Goblin Shredder? Oh! Oops." The goblin tucked the scroll behind him and looked down at the two with a nervous smile. "Sorry, but dat ain't fer sale, heh heh."

"It's okay, just find the map to the ruins, we're kind of in a hurry." Sophitia spoke up behind Shandris. The goblin nodded and continued to search. After a few more scrolls being tossed to the floor, the map was finally found. He raised it high above his head in triumph as he came down and told Shandris the cost of two-hundred pieces of gold. She handed over the gold and the two were finally off.

"'Cha rem'mber ta come back now!" He hollered as he waved his hand frantically as they walked out the door.

"That was quite the experience." Sophitia noted with a smirk. Shandris laughed at that comment. "It's getting pretty dark out." Sophitia looked to the purple and red sky.

"Yes, I suppose we should stop here. Well actually a little further from here." She corrected herself as she turned back to the merchant's hut. Sophitia chuckled slightly.

Going a few miles away from the hut and ending up close to the east side of a lake known as Lordamere Lake, they finally stopped inside of a forest with semi-dry grass and little debris scattered here and there around the forest. Shandris figured that they would end up having a day and a half left of traveling to the ruins since Dalaran was on the other side of the blocking mountains.

"Too bad your warriors as well as us have to sleep on these hard grounds." Sophitia noted as she leaned herself against a tall but not very full cedar tree. Shandris turned her head sharply towards Sophitia, with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"You didn't see very much of our race did you? You don't know about our Ancients?" Shandris sounded surprised as Sophitia's eyebrows lowered in confusion.

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A few days had finally passed with nothing eventful for the group of two-hundred warriors and their five leaders, despite how Maiev thought about the strangeness of the orcish tracks. Taki, Mina, Jaina and the Night elves came before the wooden gate and towers of the orc encampment. There was nothing knew at to look at for Mina and Taki besides the towers of smoke coming from inside the encampment and what sounded like brute men training for battle. The tall, wooden gate was guarded by two strange creatures; choppy, wooden complexion, pale blue skin, long burning red hair that was shaped like the long horse-hair Greek or Roman helmets and what looked like tusk-like teeth. They held long spears which were immediately brought up to their chests in defense.

"Wha'chu won'? Wad's de reason fo' ya trespassin' dese grounds elf?" Maiev was about to reply but was interrupted as Jaina came forward holding the letters to both her and Tyrande. The two let down their guard as they slightly recognized this sorceress from the last escapade they went through with another orc warchief called Grom Hellscream. She gave the letters to the guard to the left of the gate.

"Thrall asked for us to come, we wanted to discuss his matters as well as ours to him personally. You may remember me as Jaina Proudmoore?" Jaina hoped that they would remember her, it would make things easier to get along with the other orcs. The creature raised his eyebrows as his memory of the sorceress slowly came back. His eyebrows when to their original, fearless state.

"Fine. I'let ya pass." His gaze wandered over to the arm of Night elves. "Bu' if we see one a ya elves pullin' dose tricks on us; goin' all invisible in da night and speakin' ya weird language 'n da ghostly fashion widin da trees, you get booted out. Got 't?" He raised an eyebrow at Jaina and the other elves as if he already didn't believe their answer.

"Of course, I and even the elven leaders will make sure our warriors stay in order, if indeed need be." Jaina assured. The creature took his fixed beady eyes off of Jaina and pushed open the gate to reveal what looked like several Indian tepees, only had sharp horns coming out at the corners and had hard roofs. The smoke appeared to be coming from the smith and carpenter shops. Several small houses with red roofs and dozens of horns were scattered around the outer area within the wooden walls of the encampment while the very center had what looked like one of the small houses only eight times bigger and seemed to have more than one room by the looks of the general architecture.

Taki and Mina followed the crowd, Jaina mostly since she seems to have a talent for calming orcs, which mixed themselves about the encampment, catching eyes with either the humans or the elves. Some actually showed expressions of being threatened, but after noticing that the gate wasn't knocked down and that the guard trolls let them in then the intruders must have a good reason for coming to such a remote and dry land.

Jaina showed the others the way to the main building, knowing that Thrall would be inside. They were stopped again by two brute-like bare-chested orcs. Jaina used the same method that she used with the trolls and the guards, although suspicious, let them pass into a large bar. The others were surprised that they had to meet with a chieftain in the middle of the bar, but Jaina led them to a big black door of the back room with a sliding eyepiece, no doubt to ask for reasons of disturbing their beloved chieftain.

Jaina knocked three times and folded her arms and shifted the weight on her legs as she waited for the reply. The rectangular door to the eyepiece slid open with a pair of dark brown eyes looking down at them.

"A human?" The guard laughed slightly at the sight before him. "Humans and elves want to see our chieftain? _Chuckle_ What business do you have with our chieftain? Oh, wait, I know you." The guard's eyes narrowed as a memory came to him. "You're that sorceress, the daughter of what's-his-name. Heh, the imbecile still fighting against our living beings? Ha! Haven't seen much of him lately; must be scared that he'll lose." He laughed so hard that he had to rest his forehead on the door and close his eyes slightly.

Jaina huffed and did something she didn't want to do, but did it in her father's name. She raised her staff and whacked it against the place where is forehead rested, making his head bounce back as he grunted and growled in pain and rubbed his forehead.

"I came here to see your chieftain, he sent a letter to me and wished to ask for something that has to do with protection against the Scourge's assaults. I didn't come here to hear my father be insulted, even if I don't believe in all of his wars against your race it doesn't mean that I'll sit back and listen to your words. Now let me pass." Jaina spoke in a rather demanding voice, making all the others stare at her in awe and surprise at her sudden defense.

The orc growled and pulled his hand away from his forehead forcefully. "Not with that attitude will I let you pass!" Jaina's eyes strained trying not to narrow. The others around her, exept Maiev who just watched the scene, knew that it would be a bad idea to piss off a sorceress but they were saved at someone walked up and pushed the guard out of the way.

"Let her through!" Spoke a deep, brute yet evenly-toned voice from behind the door. The door was opened by an orc with long black hair, most of it falling behind his back while the hair that framed his face were in ties. His armor covered almost all of his body except for his head and neck and on his brown leather and chain-like belt was a hammer that looked like a replica of the mallet that the Norwegian god of thunder, Thor held. His focused brown-red eyes gazed down at Jaina.

"Glad to see you've come, and in such vast numbers." The chieftain spoke, showing his large and rather sharp teeth. Jaina smiled as if she was welcoming him.

"Hey, no problem." Jaina replied with a simple shrug as Thrall stepped out of the way so that Jaina and her companions could enter his quarters.

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"Are you nearly ready?" Sylvanas asked impatiently. The necromancer threw a scowl at her as he brushed his robes with his hand. "We just made it to the orc's camp and you're already slacking in your attention-keeping skills." She stated as if she was serious.

"Ready with what? How do you think you can work your way into that camp and not be seen? You're not that swift." He stated as if he was actually concerned, which made Sylvanas raise an eyebrow. She sighed as she knew he was right in that respect.

"We passed by a graveyard on the way over here. You're right about my abilities, but what about yours?" Sylvanas turned her burning red eyes to the necromancer's green eyes as if she was waiting for him to get an idea of what she was talking about. "Why do it ourselves when we can call on an army to be your shield?" Sylvanas raised an eyebrow.

"_My_ shield?" He folded his arms across his chest, knowing where this was heading.

"You know who the woman is so you need to go in, find her and dive into her head." Sylvanas explained simply. The necromancer looked down in thought, then nodded. "Good, now..." Sylvanas turned to the camp, watching the unsuspecting orcs pass through the camp freely. "Go awaken our fellow dead."

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The next one, you can tell, is a bit more action-packed so if this chapter wasn't your thing then the next one should certainly be. The whole Shandris and Sophitia thing isn't a Shandris/Sophitia thing. I wouldn't do that in this kind of a fic or in any kind of my fics for that matter. If you have difficulties understanding what the trolls and goblins and such are saying, tell me and I'll translate.

I know that the merchant shop scene may have been a bit long-winded to put in, but I wanted to try something with a bit of comedy in it and wanted to test out my troll/goblin dialogue writing skills, which I hope was okay, not in the understanding sense but in the Jamaican-sounding sense.

The trip to Kael'Thalas will continue in the next one. I just wanted to speed things up a bit so that you won't have to read through each day because it makes the story too long-winded and I know how annoying that can be and I'm trying to avoid that the best that I can. The orcish tracks will be explained in the next one.


	7. Offenses and Defenses

Do not own SC or Warcraft characters. This chapter is mainly focused on Taki and Mina in the camp, there's some Sophitia; blood elf scenes. I hope it worked out well : )

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Chapter 7: Offenses and Defenses

It took nearly a day and a half to get through the closely fitted mountains to Dalaran, as Shandris had predicted. The wide and jagged mountains luckily had passages that were wide enough for the ancient trees to walk through and Sophitia had the smart idea of sending a few hippogryph riders over the mountain tops to map out the passes, scan for enemies and check for any crevices in and between the mountains.

There didn't seem to be very many creatures within the mountains, which took Shandris by surprise. There were a few critters the height of the goblin merchant that had long claws and dark purple and brown skin and fur that usually had the nature of jumping at anything that crossed its senses, but they refused to fight; they just ran into small holes within the mountains.

They had gotten passed the mountains and the forests of oak fir trees to find small samples of civilization. Celtic-looking towers were seen here and there along the paths within the forests.

"Is there anything within these forests or about this race that we should worry about?" Sophitia spoke as she eyed the woods, her eyes straining for any sign of sudden movement to show before her.

"Oh of course not; the blood elves are very close to us, we have worked with them in several occasions and I'm sure they'd be will to grant favors." Shandris explained simply, not turning to Sophitia as if she didn't care to worry herself like Sophitia did.

"We shall see what this _favor_ might be." A male voice spoke above them. They both shifted their gaze sharply to see a man with long blond hair tied loosely behind him, his dark red pants were ragged slightly at the legs however his white collared shirt and dark red vest were in perfect condition. He seemed to have a tool belt around his waist consisting of merely a hammer, a notepad and pencil, an extendable measuring stick and bandages.

'I see their technology surpasses many other civilizations.' Sophitia noted to herself as she continued to stare at the intruder who sat on a boulder, one knee he held to his chest while laid his arm on the other and gave the women a sly look. He suddenly jumped down and walked toward them lazily.

Shandris noticed a few of her archers readying their arrows towards the man but Shandris simply raised a hand telling them to lower their weapons.

"My, my. I didn't expect a blood elf builder like yourself to show up with no sigh of _some _backup." Shandris noted simply. Sophitia noticed his long ears, the same shape and length as the night elves' poking out of his long locks and the iris of his eyes were scarlet and the centers were an illuminating golden color.

"_Ahem_." He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Firstly; I consider myself an 'architectural genius' compared to just a 'builder'." He ran his fingers through his long hair and spoke in a tone as if the word 'builder' was the lowest label of any caste system. "And secondly; since you're night elves I didn't really see a point in calling for backup. If I had, they would've been here long ago." He spoke simply in an 'as a matter of fact'-like tone. "Besides, I had already heard rumors about you coming in our base camp, which is about a mile and a half from here. Kael'Thalas awaits your arrival and your report on the matter." His gaze shifted over to Sophitia and his eyebrows rose dramatically in surprise and intrigue. "A human? This is new." He noted aloud.

"Not as new as you think." Shandris stated with a smirk. "Lead us to Kael'Thalas." Her face melded to serious.

"Be honored to." He spoke with a sly smile as he bowed his head slightly at Shandris and headed in their original direction. Sophitia leaned in closer to Shandris so that she could speak in a low voice.

"Thinks rather highly of himself doesn't he? I mean, if you look at it in a certain angle." Sophitia quickly corrected herself so that she wouldn't feel as if she was being over-judgmental to someone she just met in ten seconds. "It's just rather strange to see a person who seems to be close to the class of a peasant to speak of themselves in such a way." Sophitia actually meant to have that comment within her thoughts but it subconsciously came out. In Greece, she and her family would be considered peasants as well and people within her caste sometimes acted much like the blood elf did but that was because they were just too foolishly self-righteous to actually think.

"Oh there's much worse in the base, just you wait." Shandris replied with a smile as if the way her cousin race acted amused her slightly. Sophitia raised an eyebrow at her statement.

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Thrall led his visitors pass into his battle-planning quarters, which was a small circular space with a rounded wooden roof. To the left was a dark wooden desk and large chair that weren't very well sanded, in fact it didn't even look sanded at all but the scarlet and black drapes with golden hems that were pulled back slightly against the wall cascaded over to the sides of the desk made the room look a little more attractive. To the very back of the room was a fireplace that was lit ablaze, even though it was the middle of the day. The strong scent of freshly carpentered wood filled the room.

"Brought some friends I see." Thrall noted as his brown-red eyes surveyed Mina and Taki as he sat himself in his massive chair beside his desk. Naisha and Maiev he didn't seem to pay much attention to. "I hope my guards didn't cause you too much trouble, besides him." Thrall pointed over to the troublesome guard by the door that refused to let them in, the guard in return just looked at him and shifted his standing position as he looked back to the ground, trying to keep what self-dignity he had left.

"Not really." She answered simply then paused to wait for him to bring up an idea of an alliance. "We heard your news of the undead attacking your camps and, as you can well see by the number of warriors we brought with us, we are willing to help." She stated in a rather bright and proud tone.

"You didn't run into any of the undead on the way over here did you? Their raids become so consistent in some of my camps that I have my own warriors patrol the areas surrounding the camps twice a day." Thrall stated as his gaze swept over them all, waiting for an answer.

'That would explain the tracks.' Taki thought to herself, she knew Maiev was thinking the same thing. Jaina simply shook her head in reply.

"Good. They seem to be slowing then. I'm pleased to hear your acceptance. Surely you Night elves want something in return?" He raised an eyebrow and held a sly smile as if he knew the elves were going to say yes. "I know you elves always want something in return for your efforts, whether it's from an Orc or not."

They all stood in silence, mostly waiting for Jaina to say something since she seems to be the spokeswoman of them all. She was trying to find a way to place the right words in the right order but Maiev just rolled her eyes in impatience and with a quick spark she disappeared behind them then reappeared right in front of Thrall with another spark. She leaned forward slightly on his desk and gave him a narrowed-eyed glare.

"H-how did she do that?" Mina leaned towards Naisha, pointing and still looking at Maiev and a stunned expression on her face. Naisha didn't take her eyes away from the scene either, she just bent her head towards Mina.

"It's a spell all wardens such as her learn; it's called 'Blink'."

"Join an alliance with you against Arthas?" Thrall spoke just after Naisha's sentence. He looked both shocked and taken aback. "The Scourge I don't bother with and Arthas is none of my concern. All that is a threat to me is the Burning Legion and all Arthas should care about is the human race." He spoke as if he was surprised none of them knew that.

"Yes but Arthas has obtained a second demonic weapon from where we come from." Mina suddenly spoke up, she became nervous when everyone's attention, besides Taki, turned to her. "Arthas is a threat to both your world as well as ours. The blade he took was called Soul Edge, wielded by a dark knight by the name of Nightmare. We're trying to gather as many forces as we can to stand up to both Nightmare and Arthas." Mina continued, saying as much as she can about Nightmare so that she could get her point across enough for Thrall to understand the danger level of the situation.

Thrall was silent, looking straight at Mina with a look of aggravation on his face that was really directed at Mina, but mostly the idea of going back to battle against such a large force for the sake of other races. He looked at his desktop for a few seconds, lost in thought. "Does my messenger know of this newly made decision?" His eyes didn't leave his desk as he asked in a plain voice. The others pulled back at how off-the-topic it was.

"M-messenger?" Mina raised an eyebrow, wondering what a messenger had anything to do with this.

"The messenger I sent to Ashenvale with the letter to Tyrande." His gaze switched to Mina and the other Night elves. Naisha, Maiev and Jaina turned to the two who actually went and knew what happened to him and his group.

'Oh... no...' Taki's voice drifted in her head as she looked up at him with a straight face but a worrying heart, Mina gulped slightly feeling the same way.

"W-well..." Mina started, clasping her hands together in front of her and looking down as if the explanation was simple as she looked up to Thrall's confused expression. "He... well, let's just say he didn't make it to Ashenvale to complete his task personally." She tried to sound as strong and upright as possible although some of her words came out in a nervous voice. She slowly looked up to see his shocked face of realization. He sharply rose from his seat.

"All of them? You killed _all_ of them?" Thrall's face melded from one of shock to one of rage. "You didn't even take the time of asking for their reasons of possible trespassing? You just killed them at first sight?" His voice steadily grew with each sentence.

"Your messenger was spared only to speak his reasons for coming, but he didn't live due to his wounds." Naisha spoke up in an even tone.

"It was kind of an accident, really." Taki spoke up in a stable tone, ignoring Mina's questionable gaze at Naisha. His piercing stare turned to Taki, she didn't turn her eyes away from his burning ones.

"_ACCIDENT_?" He boomed in a voice that even made Jaina jump. He hastily walked around his desk though seemed to take his time as he made his way towards the two human visitors of Azeroth. "If one of your brothers or sisters fell off of a cliff would _you_ consider it 'just an accident'?" The rage shown in his features would certainly make any one feel small, but Mina and Taki stood their ground even though Mina seemed to be a bit more wary than Taki at that task. "To me, considering _anyone's _death 'an accident' is the same as taking whatever honor they held and crushing it beneath your own sole!" He snarled as he turned back to walk to his desk. "Your senseless minds aren't needed here; we can take care of our own without you. So consider your request and even my request of alliance turned-down!"

Maiev was already sick and tired of his babyish insolence and sharply grabbed a hold of his shoulder and turned him towards her before he could even get behind his desk again.

"You are even more senseless if you deny our help!" She retorted. "How many of your men do you think will survive the constant raids without us?" Thrall ripped his shoulder out of her rather painful grasp. "Since you are so thoughtful of your own brethren's health and peace, I'm sure losing that as well as probably the last piece of land you can obtain and call home to hordes of mindless undead is something you'd rather not have pass." Maiev spoke in a tone that stated that she had no fear whatsoever. Her fierce gaze stared straight into his. He kept his now mildly rage-filled face in tact as he remained silent and returned Maiev's gaze.

'_CLANG!' 'CLING!' 'CLANG!' _

Battle cries and sounds of metal clashing against metal and even metal against bone could be heard from outside, drawing everyone's attention. Thrall hastily made his way over to one of the two small, high-risen windows across from the desk. He gazed for a few seconds as the cries and wails continued, his eyes became wide and suddenly sped out of his quarters and bar.

Taki walked over to the window and Thrall's expression before he left became hers as hordes of creatures that looked both dead and alive, most being even partially decomposed. The sight of them gave Taki an uncomfortable feeling in her throat and stomach.

"Ugh!" Mina was looking over her shoulder and the sight obviously gave her the same feeling.

"Well, this should be interesting." Maiev looked through the other window, she at least seemed to be unmoved by the scene. Without another word she headed out the door to gather her watchers and fight against the mindless creatures that somehow obtained axes and short swords to use for their defense against the orcs, who ran up and swung their own axes and spears like mad against their foes.

Once they were outside and getting a clear look at these death-mourned beings, Mina raised her Zanbatou, ready for any aimless strike from the foes although had a disgusted look on her face as if she thought she was going to be sick at any moment by watching these creatures. She looked to her side to find Taki with a wide grin on her face as her gaze swept across the campsite, as if she was counting how many foes there were.

"You're going to have fun, aren't you?" Mina raised an eyebrow at her as she asked skeptically. Taki laughed rather evilly within her throat as she turned to Mina.

"Oh ho, you know it!" With that she took off into the midst of undead groups that outnumbered the Orcs in some areas of the campsite.

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"Erm, this is him?" Sophitia's gaze drifted up the Blood Elven General who looked nearly like the builder who brought them to this slowly expanding campsite except he was much taller and his cloak and robes were more fit for a higher class such as himself. His face was very solid and serious but his soft voice and rather positive mind gave off a certain gentleness about him.

"Hm." He looked back at Sophitia and surveyed her appearance as if he was mildly surprised. "You don't look or dress like any of the other humans that I obey." He noted aloud.

"She's from the outer lands." Shandris explained simply as she looked over at Sophitia briefly.

"Ah, I see. That makes sense then." Kael'Thalas nodded in agreement, then suddenly shifted over to Shandris. "Anyway, I received the news from your runner and I pretty much understand the situation. The human alliance will surely send me to scout out the lands for Arthas so I'll gladly help, perhaps then my generals can actually give my race and myself the respect we actually deserve." The last part his sentence he actually wanted to remain in his head but it actually slipped out, but he merely mentally shrugged at his mistake.

"Glad to see that you could join us so willingly. I'm sure the Orcs will be a bit of a different story, but since the toughest warden is there I'm sure that disputes won't last long." Shandris noted. "I'll leave departing time up to you since this is a bit short notice; we need to return to Ashenvale."

Kael'Thalas place his thumb, index and middle fingertips on his chin in thought, then he turned and surveyed how well abundant his people were at this point. "Two days perhaps, then we'll leave; we need to gather more resources for the trip as well as the stay."

"Two days?" Sophitia sounded as if she was worried. Shandris looked at her and mentally sighed, knowing why she was worried.

"Two days at the most. Since finding a place to stay is probably new to you here, I'll have my most well-educated sorceress escort you around the camp if needed." Kael'Thalas assured her with a faint smile.

"I'll have a temporary housing tree built for you; I remember that back in Ashenvale you slept on hard ground for two days." Shandris added. Sophitia didn't want to say anything although she was right, but she didn't want to sound as if she was spoiled if she did say something.

'Wait...' "Housing tree? Is it like one of those walking ancients you showed me?" Sophitia asked as the words 'housing tree' intrigued her.

"Something like that." Shandris smiled as though she was amused.

"Odd fashion statement, you must be a newbie." Sophitia turned as a deep and rather sultry voice spoke behind her. A woman with long brown hair with streaks of gold, wearing a scarlet and golden hem dress that seemed to lift slightly at the front of the knees and showed quite a bit of her upper chest, and bright ruby eyes with golden pupils stood behind her, eyeing Sophitia's 'alien' skirt. Her gaze moved up to Sophitia's face and pulled back in surprise after noticing her dark pupils. "Oh! a human?"

"Your timing couldn't be more impeccable, Tasia." Kael'Thalas stated. The woman lifted her gaze to her general.

"Isn't it always? But anyway, why do you say that? Did the Sanctuary invent a new spell that they want me to test out on her?" The woman pointed at Sophitia and smirked but spoke as if she knew that wasn't really the case.

"No, I just need you to watch over our human from the outer lands until we leave for Ashenvale in two days." He explained with a sigh that was mostly directed at the woman's question.

"She's from the outer lands?" Her eyes ran up and down Sophitia again. "That explains a lot of things." She muttered as she looked down and rubbed the back of her head as if she thought it would drown out her voice, which was obviously unsuccessful. "If you insist." She sighed.

Shandris prevented Sophitia from narrowing her eyes at Tasia with an '_Ahem'._ "I'll get the tree set up for you now since there isn't much left for us to do in the time being." Sophitia figured it would be better to follow Shandris before any possible outbursts and arguments between them, which was highly unlikely for Sophitia to do but she was aggravated enough as it was.

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The housing tree was built just along the edge of the camp itself, mostly for privacy purposes. Basically it was a tree with a living quarters below the trunk built by something called a Wisp, which were the spirits of passed Night elves.

The interesting part about the tree was that the entrance way to the quarters was a mossy downhill chute and the exit was a ladder to the surface. Three long-handled torches that were clung to the walls at an even space apart were the only light of the room during the night besides the moonlight that shown through the top of the now-hollow tree and small, high-risen and wooden-bared windows. The root-entangled ceiling had long drapes that were thin enough to be see-through, each were deep-aqua blue, scarlet and silver colored.

'For a burrow, it's actually quite roomy, even with a bed and a desk with a chair.' Sophitia thought to herself as she surveyed the room. The bed was quite large, perhaps just big enough for two people, and was covered with layers of animal fur, although she had no idea how Shandris got them, but then again why question it?

"Think you can live with this?" Shandris asks softly as she raises her eyebrows. Sophitia chuckled slightly.

"Yes, I think so." She smiled faintly.

"Good. Then I'll leave you while I try and get the rest of my warriors settled." Shandris stated as she climbed up the ladder. Sophitia watched her leave, as soon as she had reached the surface Sophitia let herself fall upon the bed, and of course this sudden and even softness gave her the immense pain and some pleasure in her lower back. She breathed deeply and exhaled as the pain slowly dissolved and looked over to the side of the bed that wouldn't be taken by anyone else.

"Well Taki," She breathed then looked down at Taki's gift on her finger. "I hope you're having better, faster luck then I am." She took the ring and clasped it in her hands and brought it close to her chest as she rolled over and closed her aching eyes.

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"Shyaaa!" Taki raised her glowing Rekki-Maru high into the air and slashed it forcefully down as she came down from the air into a group of moaning and limping creatures. Cutting clean through half of the first, jabbing into the stomach of the second behind her, thrusting into the throat of the third to her right and kicking the forth and final ghoul of the group square in the skull with a kick so fierce that the skull was kicked off completely.

Of course to her horror, the headless body kept coming at her. She just responded with a small smirk at hit's first attempt of attack at her shoulder and slammed her blade through its waist.

"Ugh! Get off of me!" Mina shouted in disgust as a group of undead came to her at all sides, one pounced on her back wrapping its skin-and-bone arms around her neck and used its weight to try and bring her to the ground. Its grunting and moaning breathed into her ear making her grimace and hastily reached her hand behind her to try and rip the cold and clammy creature off. Much to her displeasure, she reached for its collarbone and the flesh was so decomposed that she could feel her fingers slowly yet easily digging into the flesh.

Despite the feeling she gripped its collarbone and flesh and through the creature over her head and into a group of undead surrounding in front of her, making them all fall to the ground due to their lacking muscle to withstand the thrown body. They took their time as they raised themselves and walked slowly over to Mina. "This is problematic." Mina went into a defensive stance as she looked over the number of undead bodies heading towards her and counted seven coming to her in a half-circle. She took a few steps back as she tried to find a strategy of attacking them effectively and hopefully all at once.

"Duck your head!" She recognized Naisha's voice and looked behind her only to see eight open-bladed moon glaives spinning her way. She quickly ducked and watched and listened as the glaives cut off their arms that held their axes. Mina grinned at the odds of death, or to be better put, second-death between her and the weaponless creatures. Using the bladed end of her Zanbatou, she spun herself around as she cut through the creatures one by one and watched them fall to the ground in that order.

She grinned as she turned to Naisha to thank her, but her smile faded as she saw a tall undead figure standing behind her and raising his dagger over the unsuspecting Night elf. She aimed her bladed end of her Zanbatou and tossed it in Naisha's direction, Naisha looked a bit shocked in return and turned her head to the side so that she would miss it but heard a low growling noise behind her and finally a yelp of pain as the Zanbatou passed her head.

The creature was of course still alive even though the blade went through its face, but the weight of her Zanbatou slowly brought it to the ground. Naisha turned to the fallen undead being and ripped Mina's Zanbatou out of its face and jammed it hard into its abdomen, twisted the blade and ripped it out of its body harshly at its side then went back through its stomach so that it no longer had legs. The creature appeared to shudder as its strength completely left its body.

"I guess that makes us even." Mina spoke behind her, taking her Zanbatou as Naisha handed it back to her. Naisha smiled.

"I guess so." She nodded. She turned to the fast red blaze far behind them. "Taki's a tireless one, isn't she?" Naisha noted as she watched the fast-paced ninja jump from zombie to zombie, each one falling to the ground within seconds. Mina raised an eyebrow as she watched.

"I never thought I'd say this aloud, but I think only Sophitia can answer that with more examples than one." Mina held back a smile until she heard Naisha laugh slightly.

"I'm sure that's true."

"How many more of these things do we have to worry about?" Mina asked, afraid to hear the answer. Naisha breathed in and sighed as she surveyed the surrounding areas. With the combination of orcs and night elves fighting against a common enemy, the undead's forces greatly slowed and few were remaining. She watched as three undead beings ran from Thrall and his mighty hammer as well as his wolf companion known as Snowsong.

He roared as he raised his hammer high above his head and summoned a powerful attack where his hammer began to glow a magnificent white. He slammed his hammer down against the ground so hard that the earth around him shook slightly and a lightning bolt struck all three undead creatures at the same time, making them twitch and jerk violently at the bone-shattering feeling.

Maiev was busy defending her sisters that were either defenseless at the moment or just outnumbered. Jaina summoned her favorite spell, Water Elemental, which was a tall water-based figure that slammed its gigantic fists against the undead.

"I think we've won; they're beginning to fall back." Naisha noted.

"Good." Mina sighed. "Their reeking stench is turning my stomach."

Taki wiped the sweat from her forehead as she calmed herself and looked around the camp to see that almost all of the undead had fallen, the remaining few were being dealt with so they were no longer her concern.

"Seventy-seven downed by me... a new record." Taki grinned triumphantly as she reached for her rag to wipe off the extra slivers of skin and blood from her temporarily spent blade. She felt around her hips to find that she didn't have it anywhere on her. "Hm? That's funny, where'd it go?" Her attention was taken away as she saw a single zombie within the woods trying to escape. "Oh no you don't!" Taki took off for the temporarily spared ghoul. 'If it's one thing I learned from years of training back at the Hoko Temple, it's to never let one enemy be spared; you never know if he might warn his leaders of people like me and send more time-wasting soldiers against us.'

The zombie turned as it heard fast-paced footsteps and immediately tried to hurry itself, although his limping slowed it down terribly so even the thought was futile. Taki smirked as she noticed that it was trying to escape although failing miserably. She jumped high into the air and raised both her blades above her head.

"Now, now; you have to finish what you START!" She shouted as she slammed her blades into its back and ripped them upwards making both her blades sear through its head. She decides to fuzz the view of her eyes as the body split apart and fell to the ground.

Taki straightened herself as she sheathed her blades and brushed off her arms with her hands. "Well." She turned to walk back to the camp. "Another job well don-Ow!" Taki stopped as she felt a hard prick in the back of her ankle. She looked down to find a feather a bit wider than her thumb sticking out of her ankle, pulling it out she noticed that it was a small needle that had a hint of black residue on it. Suddenly she began to feel very dizzy and weak as the dart dropped from her fingers. The more she struggled to find the feeling in her knee joints the weaker she felt. Her knees gave way and she fell forward upon them for a few seconds before muttering "Oh... damn it." and finally collapsed onto the ground as her vision faded into black.

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Taki's eyes blinked and fluttered open as she groaned from the feeling of her insides being washed over with something. She tried to move her hand to her head but realized that her wrists and ankles were in shackles that were attached to a wide tree.

"What the hell?" Taki's eyes widened as she looked at her surroundings, she was in a deeper area of the woods and strange markings were etched into the ground around the tree she was chained to.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake." An elderly voice spoke next to her. Her eyes darted over to a man with a long white beard and staff, a strange horned headdress and questionable robes.

"What the hell do you want?" Taki spoke harshly as her gazed narrowed at him.

"Oh, nothing really... I just want some information from you." He spoke simply as he strode over to her and leaned forward slightly.

"Information? About what? I hardly know anything about this place, what use am I to you?" She gave him a look of sheer confusion, which only made him smirk beneath his beard.

"It's not information of Azeroth or the leaders within it, it's about the person that we are looking for that you traveled with to Azeroth and seem to know quite well. Sophitia, was it?" He knew that he was right but he just liked to watch his enemy's rage grow, which certainly happened to Taki as she shot up and stared daggers into him.

"I'm not telling you a thing, you freeze-dried old hag!" Taki spat viciously as she pulled against her chains. The necromancer stood himself up and shrugged.

"Alright, I knew that your closed mouth wouldn't be a problem, although I love to pry the answer out by torture I'm afraid I don't have enough time for that. So I'm just going to take what you know by force." He spoke simply then suddenly shot out his hand, his cold palm pressed against her forehead and his fingers pushed back her bangs. His thumb and little finger laid themselves onto her temples. Taki pushed her head against his hand.

"Just what do you think your doing?" Taki raised an eyebrow, she watched as he grinned widely.

"Oh you'll know in just a few seconds." He spoke softly and simply, his wicked grin widened slowly. "_Veniant spiritus glaciales obscurants, cum obscurationi flet tempestas nivalis. Nivis tempestas obscurans._" Taki raised an eyebrow at the words he was muttering with closed eyes.

' "Darkness obey, a blizzard, ice and snow of the night"?... Latin?' Taki's eyebrows lowered with confusion as she translated his words in her head. Her eyes slowly widened as she noticed that the etches around herself and the tree began to glow a faint red.

"Come! Oh mighty shadow masters and mistresses of darkness! Lend me your hands so that I, a loyal servant of damnation, may gather the information needed to prevent your thrones from being desecrated by the hands of these petty mortals!" He shouted to the skies as his grip on Taki's forehead tightened. The illuminated etches became brighter and even seemed to move as Taki felt a strange sensation in the center of her forehead.

She grunted slightly as the small pricks of pain on her forehead became wider. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted together slightly due to the pain as what felt like a cold ghostly mist seeped into her head. The necromancer chuckled evilly at Taki's repetitive grunting and her forehead move side to side against his hand trying to free herself.

Finally the seeping feeling stopped but she could still feel a could mist enveloping her brain and penetrating through her forehead although it was still.

"Now...let's see what your memory has in store for me." He spoke in a low voice that sounded full of anticipation. Suddenly, Taki's brain began to burn in random areas, then it felt like her mind was freezing over in what felt like slashes, then it went back to burning even more. She tossed her head every which way, trying to get his cold hand off of her, but it didn't help; his grip was too tight. Out of nowhere flashes of memories came before her eyes, all of which had to do with Sophitia. When this realization came to her, her stopped tossing her head for a few second before her face twisted with rage.

"No... NO!" Taki screamed as her head thrashing became more violent. "I won't let you touch her! Do you hear me?"

"Stop struggling!" He snarled as he slammed her head against the tree with all his might, trying to still her movements. Luckily, it didn't knock her out because she was pressing against his hand when he did so, so that the impact wouldn't be as painful. The ghostly mist dug further into her head, pressing harder into her mind. More and more memories came into her head, she noticed that the necromancer was smiling so she knew he could see them as well. Taki's heart began to beat faster with fear of how much he knows already.

"Get out of my HEAD!" Taki shrieked at the top of her lungs, almost deafening the necromancer as she thrashed her head and her arms against her shackles more violently.

"Your screams won't get you anywhere foolish woman!" He snarled back as he slowly leaned his hand harder against Taki's head. Taki closed her eyes tightly as the pain became so intense that it felt like her brain was begin ripped apart. A bright blue light appeared in the corner of the necromancer's eyes.

"_Flans exarmatio!_ Wind flower, disarm weapon!" A female voice shouted from the direction of where the blue light came from. He looked up to see a white wind-like mist flow towards his direction. The mist, much to his surprise, was powerful enough to blow him five yards away, thus releasing his grip on Taki's forehead. Taki, rather exhausted and about ready to lose consciousness, let her body lean on the shackles until he heard a 'clang' and the shackles were broken from the tree. She nearly hit the ground had it not been for someone with long red-brown hair swooping her into her arms and kneeling the both of them on the ground.

"Taki, what happened?" She heard Mina's voice but didn't have the strength, nor the care to answer. She just felt Mina lift her head to rest on her shoulder as she went back into a deep sleep.

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Mina sat herself in a chair beside Taki, who was still sleeping in bed inside something called a 'housing tree' that Naisha built for them. Mina had her head propped up on her elbow and stared aimlessly at the floor, glancing at Taki every so often just to check for signs of any movement.

'I can't believe I had to undress her!' Mina sighed as she shook her head slightly. 'I know it's for comfort's sake but next time, I'm going to make sure that Sophitia comes so that she can do it herself, knowing that she won't refuse. I didn't even know how to get half the damned thing off!' She looked back down at Taki again, her loose long ebony hair spread itself across some of the pillow. 'At least she's wearing the old yukata I bring everywhere with me just in case I feel like wearing it. And I kept her chest bandages and underwear on her, there's no _way_ I'm taking those off.' Mina breathed in deeply. 'It was strange though... when she passed out... her eyes were still half-open.'

Mina's attention turned to Taki as she began to mutter something in her sleep and her position shifted slightly. She became nervous as Taki's breath became heavier and a bit faster and made hardly auditable noises within her throat as her eyes clinched together. Mina sighed. 'Gods, if she's having an erotic dream concerning Sophitia and herself I swear...' Mina stopped her train of thought as she gently sat herself onto the edge of the bed and nudged Taki slightly with squinted eyes and a cautious expression as if she was afraid that Taki was a barrel of black powder and she chanced throwing a burning stick into the barrel that might explode. "Taki."

Taki didn't wake as she turned her head slightly and let out a dull groan. Mina nudged harder on her shoulders and raised her voice slightly. "Taki wake up!"

Taki's eyes suddenly snapped open and shot herself upwards into a sitting position as she yelled slightly into the room with a stunned look on her face. Mina jumped at the sudden movement and hastily threw her arms on her head.

"I'm sorry! I won't disturb you when you're having an erotic dream again, I promise!" Mina yelled in fear as she closed her eyes tightly, expecting the worst. Mina slowly and cautiously opened her eyes when she didn't hear or feel Taki move.

Taki was breathing heavily and kept her eyes locked on the opposite wall until they began to dart as she lowered her head to the sheets. "Wha-what happened?" Taki asked in a soft voice as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm.

"Don't you remember?" Mina raised an eyebrow. "You were taken and tortured somehow by that guy with the long beard." She explained as Taki continued to not look at her.

"Oh...yeah, it's coming back to me." Taki's hand made its way to the back of her head, her face tightened at the pain as she rubbed the bump on the back of her head. "Damn son of a... he gave me a bruise half the size of a lime and a head that feels like it has an anvil in it." She let herself fall back on the bed since in made the throbbing inside dull slightly. She sighed and turned to Mina. "Did we get him?"

Mina looked down slightly. "No, somehow he got away after Jaina blasted him with one of her spells." Mina looked up to Taki who now showed a face of aggravation at this news. "We heard a scream in the woods and we came and saw you chained to a tree and nearly crying with that thing holding your head." Mina watched as Taki closed her eyes and lowered her eyebrows as she groaned and turned her head on the pillow. "At least the good news is that Thrall decided to join us after seeing how many of those zombie-things came after us." Mina shuddered slightly at the memory. "And he also set free a guy that I've met before on occasion; Kilik." Mina explained as Taki looked up at her, not turning her head.

"I think I've met him once or twice as well." Taki propped her head on her elbow as she looked down at her black and blue yukata and ran her fingers along the hem with lowered eyebrows as if she was wondering where it came from. "What was he doing here in the first place?"

"He said that he felt a strong energy coming from the north and basically what happened with us happened to him, only the orcs didn't trust him period and kept him locked within their prisons since they couldn't kill him; they were afraid that he might be part of the Alliance and didn't want to take the chance of killing him." Mina explained as if she was telling a life story.

"I see." Taki sounded as if she suddenly wasn't all that interested anymore as she shut her eyes again. Mina lowered her eyebrows as a question that she didn't really want to know the answer to but was curious anyway came to mind.

"What were you dreaming about?" Taki's eyes shot up to hers, she paused then looked down again.

"It was just a nightmare, something about a girl that I've never seen before." Taki answered simply but spoke in a deep voice as she looked for something to occupy her fingers so that it would seem like the dream really didn't affect her.

Mina cocked her head to one side with curiousness to the nightmare, but decided to let it pass.

"What was that weird sorcerer trying to do with you?" Mina asked in a low voice as if she was afraid that she would bring a bad memory back to Taki. Taki slowly opened her eyes but didn't look at Mina.

"He was looking for information about somebody that we traveled with to Azeroth, although I don't know what he's talking about since I remember only traveling with you." She explained simply as she rolled over onto her stomach and wrapped her arms tightly around one of the pillows and closed her eyes.

Mina's eyes widened. "You... you mean Sophitia?" Mina already knew she was right and had to warn Jaina that they have to leave immediately to Dalaran.

Taki looked up at her with a look of confusion, thus making Mina's eyes widen even more. "Maybe... Wait, who is she?"

Mina was in complete shock. 'Did that guy wipe her memory clean of Sophitia? How's that even possible? To rid someone's mind of a single person?' Mina breathed deeply and ran a hand hard down her face as her eyes darted to random spots on the thin layer of soft brown soil scattered across the floor. 'Sophitia's going to be a wreck when she hears about this.'

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Well, as you can tell the next chapter is going to be quite interesting and you can also tell that since the majority of this chapter was basically only about Mina and Taki's current problems/events, the next chapter will make that up with more Sophie since the Taki/Mina group is heading back anyway. Sylvanas will show in the next chapter more than the previous ones, so hopefully that will make up for my lack of Sylvanas in this chapter. And as for the undead invading, pretty big graveyard, I know, lol.

With Kael'Thalas I know I had troubles pulling off his character and I'm going to try and make him more... well... 'himself' in future chapters. I had to put Tasia in there though and I know the idea was a short and half-baked one but she'll be very valuable in later chapters when Jaina happens to not be around, actually she'll be both valuable and an annoyance and that, to me, would make it more fun to read and write ; )

As a special note for those of you who plays Gamecube, the name 'Tasia' I got and wanted to use from 'Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes' and Tasia Valenza is the voice actress of another favorite villainess of mine; Sniper Wolf (you've gotta love her spunk and spitfire and sexy persona even if she is a terrorist). She also is the voice actress of the three main computers in the game (the ones where the key card has to be a certain temperature when placed into the right computer, and of course launches Metal Gear Rex). If you listen hard enough when the computer says that the key access has been confirmed, you can here Tasia's Russian accent, which cracks me up because I never thought I'd here a computer with a Russian accent ;P

I know I didn't give Kilik a very bold introduction into the fic (didn't have any other ideas of how to bring him in) but you'll like him a lot better when he actually makes his appearance into the fic.

The spells that were used were (or at least should be) in Latin. I got them from a rather funny fantasy/action/comedy manga called 'Negima!' by Ken Akamatsu. Really cool and funny manga, I highly recommend it.


	8. The Torturing Nightmares

Do not own Warcraft or Soulcalibur characters unfortunately. Sorry this one took so long, homework and end-of-term projects are killing me. As you have noticed, this fic has been rated 'R' because of language, all thanks to the ever-loving Sylvanas. This one doesn't have much happening, I'm just trying to take things bit by bit for you :)

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Chapter 8: The Torturing Nightmares

_Taki had been sharpening her brother's and sister's blades on a small platform outside of the Hoko Temple. The ground had puddles of water from the previous rainfall. Taki stopped her repetitive stroking of stone against steel to gaze into one of the puddles. Her emotionless expression on her twelve year old face stared back at her, she sighed as she turned back to continue her task, only to find that one of her siblings' weapons missing._

"_Hm?" Taki turned herself to look around the stone platform for the missing weapon but didn't see it anywhere. She turned back to find another missing, her eyes widened in panic; how could she lose her siblings' weapons?_

_She stood herself up on the platform to get a better look around her only to hear a light giggle behind her. She whipped around again to find no one but yet another weapon missing. _

'_What?' Taki thought in utter confusion. 'Could it be my little sister playing with me?' "Sakura-chan?" Taki called out in a low voice then heard another giggle behind her and someone tap on her shoulder. _

"_Who are you looking for?" A childish voice spoke behind her with a teasing tone. Taki spun around to find a girl who was a little bit shorter than her and didn't look too far from Taki's age._

_The girl's beautiful aventurine eyes had an amused gleam in them as her grin widened. Her long golden locks cascaded down to an inch or two below her shoulder blades and chosen locks that would've been falling down to frame her face were pulled back into a small, sky blue bow tie. In her arms were the three blades that went missing. Taki's eyes widened in surprise then lowered in annoyance._

"_You!" She folded her arms hastily across her chest as she leaned towards the girl, who looked at her in bewilderment. "You are such a menace! I've seen you staring at me through the trees on odd days, between doing my daily tasks and practicing with small daggers you stare at me endlessly yet you've never come forward until now! Won't you ever just leave me alone? You're not even from this country!" Taki chided the girl, whose expression changed to an innocent smile._

"_Well, you just always look so bored. I just wanted to liven you up a bit, that's all." The girl explained as if it was simple. Taki harshly took her blades from the girl's hands and took them over to the rest of the collection._

"_Yes, well, could you try to find someone else's life to 'liven' and let me be?" Taki asked as she aligned the blades back to the way they were._

"_Want to play with me?" The girl asked with hope in her voice as she walked closer, making her long, and white, sheet-like sundress ripple in the air around her knees. Taki sharply turned to her with a raised eyebrow of surprise._

"_What? I don't-!" Taki didn't have time to speak as she felt the girl take her hand and pull her towards the trees which encircled the grounds of thelarge temple. "I don't have time for games! I have to complete my tasks before my father, Toki, has a fit!" The girl turned to her with a grin as she kept pulling her into the forest._

"_Come, please. What's so bad about breaking from your chains once and a while?" The girl smiled so sincerely that Taki was at a loss for words at both her smile and her statement, so thus, she let herself get pulled into the forest. _

_The girl had chosen a game where she would hide and Taki had to find her, which was easy for Taki even if she had to close her eyes. Sometimes when Taki would chase after the girl and they ran over a shallow creek, the girl would suddenly turn around and flick the stream's water at Taki, making her slow down. Even though Taki didn't like to get wet like that, she always found herself laughing and still chasing playfully after the girl._

_The thing that surprised Taki was that the girl trusted her, someone she didn't even know, enough to know that Taki wouldn't just suddenly leave for the temple again and leave her alone. _

'_I may be many things…' Taki thought to herself as she realized this. 'But I'm not cold-hearted.' Taki stopped as she heard a not-too-well stifled giggle behind a large mossy tree. She smirked as she crept around the tree, letting her fingers gently run along the ripple-like edges. By the time she came halfway around the tree with a sharp "Ha!" to playfully scare the girl, she noticed she was already running in another direction. "Hey! You're the one that wanted to play, remember?" Taki yelled, the smirk still upon the corners of her lips. _

"_Yes, but you have to catch me!" The girl yelled back, laughing all the while. Taki grinned widely._

"_If you insist…" Taki spoke in a low voice as she ran as fast as her legs could keep up. The sunlight and lightness of the woods made it a little hard to actually lock eyes on the girl, but her long, beautiful golden hair gave her away as it waved in the wind. _

_It didn't take long for Taki to wrap her arms around the girl's waist and hear the girl give out a small yelp of surprise. Taki turned her in her arms to find her with a wide grin on her face. _

"_Is playtime over yet?" Taki asked in a low voice and an expressionless face, only a faint smile. The girl's smile faded slightly as she looked down briefly._

"_Do you want it to be?" She asked as she looked back up and spoke in a voice as low as Taki's, her smile was completely gone. Taki had no idea what to say, but the majority of her mind said 'no', much to her own surprise. "I don't. The reason I always stared at you was because I knew you had a fun side and that even though you're training to be a huntress, I knew you had a kind and gentle heart." The girl continued. _

"_I…" Taki looked down, trying to find the right words. The girl's gaze suddenly shot to the blue and randomly cloudy sky, interrupting Taki's thoughts. The girl's emerald gaze remained there for a few minutes, and then she looked back down slightly._

"_I-I have to go." The girl stated as she reluctantly broke apart from Taki's arms and not looking into Taki's wide and disappointed gaze as she turned to walk away._

"_What? B-but…" Taki tried to find words to make her reconsider. _

"_I'm sorry." The girl spoke in a depressed tone as she turned back only once to look at Taki then continued. Taki hastily walked up and grabbed the girl by the arms, pulling her back against her chest._

"_Wait…Please stay. Stay and play with me." Taki's voice was soft and full of hope. The girl just looked down then reluctantly walked forward. _

"_I…I can't, I really want to, but I can't. I'm being told that I have to leave." The girl stated in the same depressed tone as she tried to walk forward only to feel Taki take her hand and spin her around so that she was looking deeply into Taki's maroon gaze. Taki didn't question the girl's statement, she just looked at her with depression in her eyes._

"_Okay, then at least tell me your name." _

"_You… you want to know my name?" The girl looked up at Taki as if she was touched by Taki's simple requirement. Taki nodded with a bright smile, which the girl gladly returned. "It's-!"_

_The girl stopped as she and Taki noticed that the skies suddenly became dark and the woods became more and more ominous, not the bright and spirit-lifting forest it used to be. Taki felt the girl become tense as she began to back away from Taki. Taki tried to stop her and take her back into the safety of her arms but a black mist appeared behind the girl. The mist suddenly formed into a horrible half-man, half-demon figure and forcefully grabbed the girl as she tried to turn around._

_The man had long white hair and thick skull-like armor and had a chillingly figured sword next to him that had a small skull of a ram that had glowing blue eyes on it near the hilt. He also had large bat-like wings and his hands were claw-like with long boney fingers. His eyes would've been pure white if it hadn't been for the long and thin, vertical, blood red slits in his eyes. He brought his mouth close to the struggling, fear-stricken girl._

"_You should've run while you had the chance if you still valued your life, but I guess you don't. Thank you for your sacrifice to the darkness." His voice was as dark as his armor. He forcefully bent the girl backward and raised his cold sword above her chest. _

_Taki didn't need to hear the girl scream Taki's name in order to come and help her. She hastily ran forward and tried to kick the half-demon square in the face, but she felt cold, dark root-like vines wrap around her wrists and ankles and pull her back, making her land hard on the ground. She sneered at him when she heard him laugh loudly at her futile attempt. _

"_Stupid little girl. Enjoy the blood-fest." He grinned evilly as he raised the blade higher above the girl's chest as she tried to struggle. Taki pulled and whipped herself against the strong vines as she heard the girl continuously scream her name for help. Taki could only watch in horror as the blade was forcefully brought down, and watched as the girl's blood coated the ground beneath her with ceased screams and her white dress becoming stained with her own blood…_

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"NO!" Taki sprang up from her bed that was the lush grass of the forest that they were traveling through to Dalaran. She heaved as she wiped the cold sweat from her head, neck and chest. She slammed her fist to the ground. 'That girl… this is the second time in a row that that girl comes into my dreams… ever since that stupid undead necromancer confronted me!' Taki yelled in her head, then sighed. 'This is the second time that she didn't even breathe her name, the second time that she somehow is taken away from me.'

She stopped as she felt her cheeks and eyes burn slightly. She lightly tapped her cheek to find it coated with water. 'Tears…?'

"Another nightmare?"

Taki whipped around to find Mina behind her with eyes of concern as she cocked her head to one side. She hastily wiped the rest of her tears away with her arm as she looked away. "Yes."

"Same girl?"

"Yes." Taki looked down and closed her eyes briefly. "How close are we to Dalaran?" She asked as she looked up to the stars. Mina sighed; she knew she would change the subject.

"We're basically touching it, we just need to get to the camp, so I'm told." She explained. Taki suddenly whipped her head around to her side and stared for a few minutes. "What's wrong?" Taki's gaze didn't tear away.

"I'm sensing something, it's far, but it's for me to just catch the feeling." She slowly walked in the direction of where her head was pointing. "It's quite an elusive sort… is the base camp in that direction?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"It should be, yes." Mina nodded. Taki suddenly turned to her.

"It would be smart for you and the others to follow my direction as soon as possible. I'll just go now and see what this aura is." Without a second thought and not listening to Mina's protests saying that Taki should stay put, Taki ran off to the strong aura. The thing that made Taki actually _want_ to go find it so early was that she recognized the aura.

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"So… She's being housed in that tree?" Sylvanas raised an eyebrow at the hollow tree; it all looked so easy.

"Yes, I can sense her, this Sophitia. That woman's memories gave me much information about our target, of course and then some which I didn't really need to see… Are you pleased?" The necromancer so wanted to hear Sylvanas do the one thing she's never done to others.

Sylvanas gave out a long sigh; she hated doing this to such a self-absorbed and surprisingly somewhat useless worshiper. "Fine, fine. You did a surprisingly well done job of finding what I needed to complete my task of assassination." She sneered slightly as she saw in the corner of her eye his wide grin of self-triumph. "And I must thank you; now that my target is right in front of me your assistance is no longer required." It was now Sylvanas' turn to grin while he turned to her with suspicion.

"I beg your pardon?" He slowly turned to face her completely but stopped as he heard her chuckled beneath her breath. She suddenly whipped around and unsheathed a sharp yet jagged dagger which she forcefully jammed straight through his already dead heart. He grunted loudly and almost fell backward as he felt the cold steel pass through his cage. "Y-you wench!" He breathed with rage as he stared into Sylvanas' wickedly excited expression. His breath became heavier but tried to hold his footing, of course her twisting the blade around inside of him to make him die faster wasn't helping. "Your traitorous soul will be burned in all seven hells! King Arthas will make sure of that!" He retorted as the feeling in his legs slowly gave way.

Sylvanas leaned towards him with a mere smirk on her face and looked straight into his fully green eyes that begun to dim. "You forget, you little pest…" Her voice turned into a whisper as she raised her eyebrows. "I don't have a soul to be tortured; I'm already dead." She watched as he choked slightly and as his flesh slowly became ash. She stood herself straight and brushed away the ash from her hands and clothes. "Humph! Good riddance."

After sheathing her dagger back into her leather belt, she hopped up to a high tree limb so that she could peer through the hollow tree's window and hopefully spot her prey without herself being seen.

She waited until a person with blonde semi-plaited hair strode passed the window, she seemed to be walking back and forth as if she was full of anticipation. Sylvanas narrowed her eyes slightly in annoyance but kept her eyes upon the girl that kept passing through the window.

'This cannot be her.' Sylvanas focused her burning red eyes upon her target that she surely mistaken. The girl looked so… inexperienced in the ways of the blade. 'A sorceress of some kind perhaps?... No; her attire is too… strange to match _any_ of the women that I had run into when I was still really alive. That imbecile of a necromancer must have given me a dead end and searched through the wrong mind!' Sylvanas shut her eyes tightly as she growled and lowered her head, what she was going to do now was going to be a tough decision.

"You've been doing that for hours Sophitia…" Sylvanas' head shot up back towards the window to see the girl with the blonde hair looking into the room. "What troubles you?" The woman that was out of Sylvanas' line of sight continued.

"Isn't it obvious? Today is our last day and I'm just so… well… anticipated. I know you know why." Sylvanas' eyes widened as she noticed that the blonde human's jaw was moving with her words of response.

'Sophitia… That's her? That's my prey?' Sylvanas thought as if the mere idea was preposterous, but her eyes clearly didn't deceive her. Sylvanas narrowed her eyes and lifted a corner of her mouth while gritting her teeth as if she was disgusted. She watched as the woman named Sophitia turned to look back outside, Sylvanas immediately buried herself deeper within the tree's leaves to prevent herself from being seen.

She noted how desperate yet melancholy the girl's face looked as she leaned herself forward slightly and brought her arms to wrap around herself as if she was trying to imagine something warm being wrapped around her.

Sylvanas rolled her eyes as she looked away with an unimpressed expression. 'She's obviously easily consumed by emotions.' She shook her head slowly as if she was disappointed. '_Feh_, she's not even worth my arrows.' Sylvanas sighed with annoyance then looked down at her previously used dagger. 'I still have to complete my task, just so that I can get Arthas out of my hair.' Sylvanas' face became serious as she waited for whoever this Sophitia was talking with to leave.

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"It just takes patience, you're just overwhelming yourself from the wait of being with her." Shandris continued as she leaned against the ladder to the surface, her arms folded.

"I know…" Sophitia reassured but didn't look up to Shandris. "I know I can wait a few more hours for dawn, then another day before we reach Ashenvale and Taki will be there with open arms. But…" Sophitia rubbed her arm with her hand as if she suddenly became nervous. "…I just fear that… that Taki might… might not…" Sophitia had trouble finishing her sentence, although Shandris already guessed what would've come next.

"Don't worry yourself over impossible things; there is no need for that when you know it isn't true." Sophitia sighed as she heard Shandris' statement; she was right. Sophitia blinked a few times as if trying to flutter away the thought as she turned to the cloaked Night elf.

"You don't have to stay; I'll be fine, thank you for your concern." Sophitia smiled, although it was faint. Shandris looked at her for a few minutes as if she was wondering if Sophitia was right about her being 'fine' then nodded as she turned to climb up the ladder, thinking that she deserves time to think about things.

Sophitia went to her bag which was laid on the bed and pulled out a long brown cloak to throw over her shoulders as she noticed that the night air seemed to be getting colder in drafts. She paused before she went to the long-handled torches behind the almost see-through curtains to snuff them out. Once that was complete, she sat upon the edge of her bed and in the darkness of the night with the moonlight, which shown through the adjacent window, and it being the only guide for her eyes.

"Oh Taki…" Sophitia spoke aloud, lost within her own thoughts. "I hope you aren't caught up with possible demons within these mysterious lands, you know what things like that can do to me." Sophitia lightly wrapped her arms around herself after she spoke, as if she was trying to calm herself.

'_whoosh-BAM!'_

Sophitia jumped and hastily stood herself as something crashed through her barred window. Only when she had turned her head to see what happened, she saw a sight before her that made her gasp and hastily try to back away from the center of the room.

"Did you say… _Demons_?" The female creature spoke with a wicked smirk as she stood herself back up, her blood red eyes locked onto Sophitia's. The hood of her cloak covered her head but her burning red eyes revealed some of her features, including her pale blue skin and dark blue to almost black hair. Sophitia could see, to her surprise, the long ears that poked out of the woman's hood as the moonlight outlined them.

"What do you want? What business do I have with you?" Sophitia spoke with as much strength and fearlessness as she could muster as she slowly reached for her sword and shield that she placed on the end of the bed.

She listened as the narrowed eyed woman chuckled deep within her throat. The woman unsheathed her jagged dagger slowly and brought the end of the blade close to her face. "Why ask stupid questions that have obvious answers?" The woman's face turned to one of excited rage as she lunged towards Sophitia.

Sophitia only had time to grab her sword and parry the woman's dagger just at the right moment. "Who are you?" Sophitia yelled as she parried the woman's blade again, amazed at how quick this woman's stance recovery was.

"Sylvanas Windrunner." She yelled back before she lunged at Sophitia's stomach, only to watch the woman as she dodged to the side. She sneered at her reluctance to die. "I'd tell you not to forget it, but you won't be around long enough to worry about that!" She growled as she slashed diagonally at the girl with rage.

Sophitia lifted her blade against it, only to notice and feel her sword arm get hit with a long but shallow slice along her forearm. She yelped at the burning sensation the blade caused but her slow recovery cost her her stance as the woman harshly pushed her to the wall and took two of her arrows and using them to pin Sophitia to the wall by her cloak at her sides.

Sophitia noticed that Sylvanas had wrapped her cloak around her own arms so that they were nailed to the wall. She grabbed the arrows and tried to pull them out but they were lodged too deep into the tree. She gasped as she noticed that Sylvanas was slowly leaning closer to her face, a disgustful sneer was clearly written upon her own as her eyes traveled around to Sophitia's features.

Sylvanas took within one hand a lock of Sophitia's hair that framed her face and was too short to be pulled back. Sophitia watched silently as Sylvanas eyed her hair then let it slip through her fingers.

"I used to have long golden hair like you." Sylvanas noted as she continued to stare at her hair, she looked as if she thought that Sophitia didn't hear her and nor did she seem to care if she really did or didn't. "But of course that was when I was still alive and not under the Scourge's control." She continued as her body moved in a way as if she was slowly or mentally shrugging.

"The Scourge…" Sophitia repeated, making Sylvanas' red to white pupils snap to hers, as if to say 'what does a human like you know of it?'. Sophitia's eyes slowly narrowed as her eyebrows lowered. "So… you are a follower of Arthas and Frostmourne?" Sophitia became nervous but her face didn't change as Sylvanas' dark and pale face went to one of shock and widened eyes, she looked as if she was just hit across the face. Sylvanas' face screwed into one of uncontrollable rage with narrowed eyes as her fist clenched, as if she wanted vengeance.

Sylvanas lifted her blade up to Sophitia's neck, pushing slightly so that only a small and slow stream of blood could flow out. Sophitia winced as she did so. "I'll make sure that your death is slow and incredibly painful for even muttering such a thing! I may be undead and be under the command of that son of a bitch, but there is no way in the seven HELLS that I would EVER be known as his slave and follower!" Sylvanas' blind rage broke through in her voice as she raised her blade high above her head and growled loudly within her throat as she aimed the blade for Sophitia's chest. Sophitia shut her eyes tightly as Sylvanas had begun to bring it down. "Argh!"

Sophitia looked up to Sylvanas with surprise as she felt no pain but heard Sylvanas yell in pain as her blade crashed to the floor with a loud '_clang_'. Sylvanas' arm was now pinned to the wall next to Sophitia, her face screwed with pain as she looked to the adjacent window. Sophitia noticed that a long dagger was lodged into Sylvanas' forearm, just below the joint. Her eyes widened as she recognized the red-wrapped hilt of the defensive blade.

"You're not who I'm looking for…?"

Sophitia sharply turned as she heard the voice that she longed to hear coming from the adjacent window. To her rising heart she saw Taki hunched in the window's oval-shaped frame, her narrowed eyes were locked onto Sylvanas while her thumb, index and middle fingers laid themselves onto her chin. Her expression looked as if she was confused, an expression which matched Sophitia's when she noticed that Taki was back to wearing her red and golden-edged mask.

Taki walked slowly over so that she was a few feet in front of Sylvanas, who sneered at her. Sophitia was both surprised and confused that Taki didn't come over and untie her first, or at least ask if she was okay, she resolved this question by thinking that Taki didn't want any enemies to know how close the two of them were.

Taki looked about Sylvanas as if she was surveying her. "…Yet I can smell him on you." Taki continued in a low tone as Sylvanas raised an eyebrow.

"Do you speak of my late necromancer?" Sylvanas' spoke in a low and somewhat shuttering voice as she seemed to be hunching over slightly, all of which the pain of the blade through her arm was causing.

"Late? I had recognized his dark aura from the last time we met and ended up meters away from here when it suddenly disappeared." Taki explained then slowly raised an eyebrow in slight surprise as she knew an upcoming answer by the slightly amused look on Sylvanas' face.

"So what? You heard us and stopped this so closely finished fight and yet your main task has now been expired?" Sylvanas laughed slightly. "Well I already killed him for you so now that you have nothing else to-"

"Don't think I'm so stupid as to leaving you alone with this girl." Taki interrupted as she waved a hand in Sophitia's direction and merely glancing at her. Taki smirked at Sylvanas' annoyed expression as she pulled out the arrows that held Sophitia to the wall.

Sophitia tried her best to hold in her impulsive need of wrapping her arms tightly around Taki and frantically kissing her lips, cheek and neck for the sake of keeping their love a secret from someone like Sylvanas.

Sylvanas sneered at Taki then suddenly smirked as she stood herself straight up. "Fine…" She reached up for Taki's Rekki-Maru to pull it free. "Then I guess I'm going to have to take you life as w- ARGH!" As Sylvanas' hand wrapped around the hilt of Taki's Rekki-Maru, Taki smirked as she watched Sylvanas' free arm begin to twitch and twist madly and her shriek filled the room. Sylvanas hastily ripped her hand away from the weapon still lodged in her arm as she heaved.

Her elbow joint felt like it was shattered twice and bolts of strange lightning surged into her arm when her hand grasped the hilt. Still heaving, she slowly looked up with an annoyed and rage full sneer on her face. "L-let me guess…" Sylvanas shuddered out due to the pain as she spoke slowly. "You're a demon huntress… with a special blade made to injure and even kill all those who touch it. Am I correct?" Sylvanas didn't need to hear a reply to know that she was right.

"You learn quickly don't you?" Taki chuckled. She turned to Sophitia with slightly raised eyebrows; that being the only emotion she showed. "Are you alright?"

Sophitia nodded nervously; something wasn't right. Usually every sentence that Taki aimed at her ended with 'love'.

"Taki!" All turned to see Mina leaning over and peering though the window. 'Annoyed' would be an understatement for the look that Mina was giving her. She was about to open her mouth to speak but then she noticed the confusion that still lingered on Sophitia's face. 'Oh boy…' was all Mina could think as she came through the window. Mina had an apologetic look on her face that made both Sophitia and Taki look at her in a confused fashion.

"You fool!" Sylvanas suddenly yelled as she diagonally swung the head of one of her arrows into Taki's back, making her yelp slightly. With gritted teeth she turned to Sylvanas, who held the same expression as Taki. "You should learn to finish your enemies when you have the chance! Believe me, I'm not going to stop until you're all dead so that Arthas and his new 'sidekick' nuisance Nightmare will get off of my… my ba-uhn…" Sylvanas suddenly seemed to become drowsy then just collapsed to the floor.

"What happened?" Sophitia asked as she looked at the unconscious Sylvanas, while also walking to Taki and pressing her hand to Taki's shallow wound that was much like the one on her arm. She felt Taki tense up slightly as she did so.

"You three love getting into trouble don't you?" They all looked to the window to find Jaina perched upon the round frame and had her staff on the floor of the room, leaning her chin against it with an amused smirk on her face.

Sophitia sighed silently then looked to Taki, who kept her eyes on the undead intruder. Sophitia lovingly wrapped her arms around Taki and stretched herself slightly along Taki's backside.

"Erm…" Sophitia felt Taki become even tenser, as if she was reluctant to do anything in return. Taki turned slightly to look back at the woman who suddenly decided to cling herself to her. "I know you're happy that I saved you, but you only need to say 'thank you'." Taki stated rather timidly. Sophitia lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she kept the side of her face pressed, then closed her eyes smiled as she nudged Taki playfully.

"Come on Taki, don't tease me after all that just happened." She giggled slightly as she nuzzled Taki's side like a cat warming itself up to its master. Jaina and Mina looked at each other at the same time; they knew this wasn't going to turn out well, especially when Taki turned to Mina with a look saying 'a little help, please?' Sophitia lowered her voice so that Taki could hear. "Now stay with me for the rest of the night; gods know I'll need someone to snuggle up to now that undead people are after me."

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Taki, now panic stricken, ripped herself from Sophitia's arms and stood in front of the bewildered woman with a tensely raised eyebrow out of confusion. "Sl-sleep with you? I don't even know you!" Taki became bewildered herself as Sophitia pulled back with wide eyes of surprise; at first, Sophitia thought she was kidding, but by the serious look in Taki's eyes she could tell that she wasn't.

Sophitia looked at her with a look of sympathy, worry and concern as she slowly raised a hand to Taki's cheek, to see how serious she was. "T-Taki…?" Sophitia moved forward as she spoke in a calm and gentle voice only to watch Taki cautiously back away in the same amount of steps that Sophitia took. In shock, Sophitia slowly brought her trembling fingers close to her lips as her eyes darted. She felt like a statue; one small push and her emotions and feelings would likely fall and crash into thousands of pieces.

She sharply turned to Mina with a glare that definitely made her jump. With lowered eyebrows she signaled Mina to come over to her, which Mina obeyed timidly and obediently. Sophitia pulled her by the collar so that she was close enough that she could whisper the best that she could.

"What in Hades happened?" Mina could hear her voice cracking slightly, because of this Mina had trouble looking straight into her eyes.

"Erm…Well…"

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The next few days could've been better for the three; going through the passes and paths to Ashenvale were more than awkward for Taki and Sophitia. Taki minded her own business and was almost completely oblivious to Sophitia, who kept glancing at her as she walked behind her.

When Sophitia had heard the whole incident of Taki's memory loss, and of course it only being memories of herself and herself only, made her whole world shatter before her and made her feel utter depression. Outside she felt like the strength and spirit had been wiped from her, while in the inside she felt like ripping the ground beneath her apart. Taki's in arms was the only place where she found unlimited comfort and safety and her kiss was the only point in time where there didn't seem to be a world around them to make them stop.

She only wished that there was a way to reverse this but this was done by black magic. She had even asked Jaina for help or advice and she said that this was one thing that she had never come across and had no idea how to fix it. The only other option was to ask Sylvanas herself since she knows the ways of black magic, but the thought of doing that frightened her after the last time that they had met. 'But I must.' Sophitia thought bravely to herself.

The last option, however, was to start over with Taki and hope that she would fall in love with her again. She didn't want to get too close to Taki just yet because she knew that she would scare her off again, so if it came to having Taki fall in love with her again somehow, it would have to take patience.

The only thing she did want to do was tend to Taki's wound on her back, she hand tended to her own on her arm and the blood flow quickly slowed, she just didn't know how Taki was doing. And the thing that hurt her the most was the fact that Taki chose to wear her mask at all times.

"Where is Sylvanas?" Taki suddenly turned to Jaina with a look of concern on her face.

"She's coming with us; we're going to figure out what to do with her once we get to Ashenvale since she can't exactly die." Jaina explained, not looking towards Taki.

"She spoke of Nightmare; he is the one who possesses Soul Edge. Perhaps she can tell us of his whereabouts." Taki noted aloud as she turned back to the road.

"This Nightmare sounds dangerous." Jaina noted in the same tone as Taki.

"He was a knight who was possessed by the demon sword when he was only in his youth. I've heard that he can sometimes regain his sanity, but that never really permanently helps him." Taki explained plainly.

"Possessed by a demon? He didn't do this by his own will?"

"He did at first but he was tricked by the demon sword." Sophitia came in; she knew the most about Nightmare since she had once encountered him. She spoke as if she was trying to speak in the knight's own defense. Jaina turned to her with raised eyebrows as if she was intrigued then turned back to the path.

"Perhaps I can try to help him then." Jaina noted aloud in a simple tone. "I'll show you once we get to Ashenvale. It's kind of a long description of what I might do." Jaina spoke again before Sophitia could as what she was talking about. Taki noticed Thrall looking over at Jaina's direction as if he was wondering what she was saying as well, either that or he thought he knew what she was talking about.

For the rest of the trip, which wasn't much further to its end luckily, Taki tried her best to ignore Mina and Kilik, who was still a little shaken over what the Orcs tended to do to him.

"Will you back away from me just a little bit? You're starting to make me nervous!" Mina complained as she turned to Kilik, who let Mina be his barrier between the Orcs and himself.

"You try walking next to someone who liked to beat you around in your cell!" Kilik retorted.

"What's the matter little guy? You afraid?" One of the orcish warriors laughed, but was quickly silenced as Thrall looked at him with an eye saying 'eyes forward!'.

Kilik could really hold his own against a few orcs but since this is an alliance and since they were so vast in numbers, it would be pointless to try and retort anything and end up getting the whole Orcish army started.

Mina had certainly become annoyed by all of this, and to top it off she was still a little nervous of Maiev, who kept glancing to every single leader/outsider as if she was the head of a surveillance tower. The thing that ate at her mind even more than Maiev was Sophitia; when she told her what happened and how Taki looked and did during the time, she looked like she was about to cry. Even though she didn't, even though she just looked towards the ground as if she was suddenly in a daze and merely gasped slightly, she could tell that her spirit just collapsed.

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When they had gotten to Ashenvale, the four, being Sophitia, Taki, Mina and Kilik, had left it to Jaina and the others to report to Tyrande.

Sophitia glanced at Taki again, who had her back to her, and noticed the red trail being left on her body suit. Sophitia sighed as she reached in her bag and grabbed the cloth bandages that she always packed.

Taki, who was sharpening her blade, sharply turned as she heard a twig snap behind her. She instantly became nervous when she saw the now timid-looking figure that was Sophitia's. "Wanting something?"

"Your back." Sophitia replied, pointing at her wounded back. Taki glanced at it the best that she could then lifted an eyebrow as she turned back to Sophitia, noticing that she had rolls of bandages in her hands.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. The blood has dried onto the wound, so you don't need to do anything." Taki replied simply as she turned back to sharpen her Rekki-Maru, which let out sparks as she did so.

"But I want to." Sophitia stated as she took a step forward, making Taki stop but not turning back. "Let me at least clean off the extra spots of blood for you." Sophitia asked with hope in her voice that wasn't there for just helping the health state of her _former_ love.

"Erm, no thanks, I'm fine without your help." Taki stated simply but paused before she continued. Sophitia felt like a rock was just dropped on her heart, but she just lowered her eyebrows and kept moving forward.

"What do you mean 'no thanks'? I'm doing this for your own health not mine." Sophitia went over to her side and kneeled down slightly to where Taki sat on the lowest step of the ziggurat. "I'm not trying to do anything I swear to the gods; I just want to help you, that's all."

"How do I know that though?" Taki replied in a frank tone as she looked over at Sophitia in the corner of her eye. Sophitia now felt like she was just shut down; she paused to find a perfect, mind-easing reply.

"Do you think someone like me would lie? Now turn around." Sophitia continued in a gentle tone as she tried to turn herself to Taki's back. She started undoing the opening of the top of Taki's body suit but Taki jumped up.

"You're going to take it off?" Taki nearly yelled with a tone of nervous surprise.

"Well not all the way!" Sophitia replied, trying her best to hide her wide grin, mostly directed at Taki's jumpy self. "I'll take you to a secluded spot that I know where you won't be embarrassed, does that sound better?" She raised an eyebrow, although it sunk her heart to know that the place that she was planning to go to was one that she and Taki had been to before they had left.

Taki looked at her with nervousness in her eyes. "S…secluded?" 'This girl doesn't take 'no' for an answer does she?' Taki thought as she raised an eyebrow.

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The next chapter will start off from here basically, it will be mostly focused on Sophitia and Taki's 'trials' of coping with what they have and what they have lost. Nightmare will appear in the next one and Sylvanas will tell her story to the woman that she tried to kill, believe it or not. Jaina made Sylvanas fall asleep in case you didn't guess, and the spell's words will be used within the next few chapters. Jaina's idea will be revealed in the next chapter as well. Kilik's character will mostly be a side-character which will slowly become more dominant.

How Taki feels about all this will appear in the next one as well.

I'm sorry again how long this took and I'm afraid to say that the next chapter might be just as long because I haven't gotten it totally figured out. I hope you like the dream sequence, I know it was a long one. More will come in, maybe not as long though.


	9. A Day Fit for Vows and Creations

Sorry this one took so long, I've been working on a second fic that's a humor/drama that I'll pin up eventually. There's a lot of talk in this one but a lot happens, at least I think Do not own SC or Warcraft characters.

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Chapter 9: A Day Fit for Vows and Creations

'Who knew Taki could be so stubborn in this kind of situation?' Sophitia thought to herself as she tried to convince Taki to take her top of her body suit off just enough so that her wound could be clearly seen.

"Can't you just do it with it on?" Taki continued with a raised eyebrow but nervousness in her eyes. The both of them were kneeling down in the lush grass in front of two wide waterfalls that were surrounded with trees. Taki remembered this place; she had come here before, she just didn't know why she came in the first place, yet for some odd reason, it felt like it was one that was meant to stay as a fond memory.

"Then it would be a little more difficult cleaning your wound, now wouldn't it?" Sophitia replied with a confident smirk on her face. As much as she tried to hide it, all this was really eating Sophitia up inside; the little things, the little pleasures that Taki used to allow her to do were now gone, and Taki seemed to not even trust her. She thought that cleaning Taki's wound and nonchalantly touching her skin here and there was the closest to Taki she was able to get.

Taki peered over her shoulder to Sophitia, who kneeled behind her and faced her back with a gentle look on her face as if she looked like she would be willing to help anyone. Taki's eyes slowly widened as Sophitia's fingers slowly came closer to her shoulder guards to unclamp them and unpin the two silver pins, one on her chest and the other on the upper center of her abs, both holding the edge of the top of her body suit tightly upon the other edge. Taki tensed as she let Sophitia's fingers continue to take off what was needed to be taken off.

"How do you know how my body suit comes off?" Taki suddenly asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. Sophitia's eyes snapped wide-open as her eyes darted from side to side; that kind of a question she wasn't expecting. She couldn't very well say that she herself had shown her on one occasion. She tried to hold back her grin at the memory.

"Ah-well-erm…" Sophitia stuttered. "Just a lucky guess." She smiled nervously.

Taki, still being a little suspicious, mentally shrugged as she turned back around to the waterfalls in front of her. Sophitia let her lay face-down on the ground with her back exposed as she cleaned off the slightly mended opening that had a small and slow trail of blood.

Taki laid her head upon her folded arms on the lush grass and slowly closed her eyes. The feeling of Sophitia's gentle finger movements was surprisingly relaxing. "You're good at this." Taki's words were rather muddled as she seemed to sigh slightly as she spoke.

"Thank you." Sophitia smiled uncontrollably even though Taki's eyes were still closed. She didn't want to mention the fact that she was straddling herself over Taki's backside. "So what do you think they're going to do with Sylvanas?" Sophitia asked, trying to make sure that Taki wouldn't notice the Greek of she slightly leaned over her.

Taki raised an eyebrow as she tried to think of the possibilities. What happened in Sylvanas' prison cell the Blood elves provided until their departure was a rather interesting event.

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Sylvanas was chained at the wrists and ankles to the wood-planked wall of the cell. The iron bars surrounded her as well as the people who had captured her and stood inside of her cell but a fair distance away from her. She hardly moved anyway, the darkness of the night and its moonlight that shined through the single window of her cell was the only thing that outlined her still profile.

Her head hung down, making the hood of her cloak cover all of her dark, emotionless features. She let her arms hang to her shoulders as they were being held by the chains. One would think Jaina's magic still dulled her senses, but she still stood straight apart from her head.

"Speak!" Thrall boomed as he stood on one side of the cells iron door with grit teeth as he clutched his hammer tightly and pointed at Sylvanas with it. "I know it was you who sent those hordes of undead against my brethren in the Barrens! You had that necromancer send them just to kill off my people in my homelands!"

"Among other things, yes." Sylvanas answered as if it was simple, her dark and mystically sounding voice echoing slightly through the small rows of vacant cells in front of her. Her head lifted only to the point where some of her burning red eyes could be passed her hood. She stared with unwavering eyes at Taki, who stood at the other side of the doorway. A small grin spread across her face although it looked menacing and insane as if she wanted so badly to cut Taki into pieces since she was the cause for her failure. "However, those 'other things' weren't accomplished like I had planned." She paused. "My task has been delayed because of you, so in return more blood will be spilt when you least expect it."

"Ha!" Maiev laughed at Sylvanas' statement as she stood next to the wall adjacent to where Sylvanas was held. Sylvanas' narrowed eyes snapped to her green ones. "I'd like to see that; you hold no offense without your weapons or your leader behind you." She grinned deviously. Sylvanas suddenly lunged herself toward Maiev as far as she could go, knowing that she was chained to a wall.

"I don't need that filthy bastard to continue to walk this earth. It may be because of him that I can't die, but I can do fine on my own without him slowing me down." She smirked. "It's not like you can hurt me enough to kill me anyway."

"We'll see about that." Taki stated as she walked towards Sylvanas and unsheathed her Mekki-Maru. Sylvanas' smirk faded as she backed up against the wall the closer that Taki came. Taki smirked at this. "What's the matter? An undead person like you scared of little ol' me?"

Sylvanas' eyes narrowed as she stared back into Taki's rather excited eyes. "No. I'm just going to make things more… interesting for you. You just wait and see."

"Whatever you say." With that, Taki pulled back and forcefully rammed her medium blade through the pale woman's stomach. She heard the cloaked figure grunt loudly in pain as she pushed her dagger deeper into the woman's depths. Taki slowly pulled back, leaving her Mekki-Maru lodged into Sylvanas' stomach and the stone wall. She pulled up her hand noting that there wasn't much blood on it.

Taki looked up to Sylvanas' gaze as she seemed to wince and cringe slightly as she bent over the sword and her legs bent slightly from the pain. Then, much to Taki's surprise, she slowly brought herself back up with a small grin upon her face, her sword still jammed within her.

"Humph, not a bad arm you have." She stated, her voice wavered slightly but it was hardly noticeable. Taki watched as blood slowly poured down from her stomach, it was black and the stream was quite small. "My heart doesn't beat so blood cannot flow through me fast enough for a larger steam of blood to come out." She informed as if she read Taki's mind. "Not that I really need to breathe, but I'm sure you want your dagger back."

Taki slowly came forward and pulled the dagger out of the stone and Sylvanas' body and looked at the dark hole just above Sylvanas' naval and sneered. Sylvanas had a wide grin on her face as if she was both amused and excited, which made the rage inside Taki begin to swell. "Don't rely too much on your no longer beating heart to save your life."

"Heh, big talk from someone who's used to claiming victory in her demon killing." Sylvanas smirked, then suddenly brought out her torso in front of Taki. "Want to try again?" She grinned excitedly although in an insane way, as if she was looking forward to Taki's second attempt.

Taki backed away with a disgusted look on her face, she knew that a second attempt would be futile. "Just wait, any creature that walks the earth always has a weak point." Taki stated with a confident look on her face, but she knew that that wouldn't faze Sylvanas.

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"I don't know; it's not like we can just toss her over a cliff since she'll surely come back." Taki stated, her eyes still remaining closed. Sophitia blinked then closed her eyes as she nonchalantly let her fingertips gingerly run across Taki's soft white skin on her back as she asked another question that was in a low voice.

"What was it like? When the necromancer came and… did what he did to you?" Sophitia was quite curious as to how Taki felt about all of this. Taki could feel the change in gesture in Sophitia's fingertips and hoped that it was some kind of soothing gesture that was working rather well on her. Her eyes, however, snapped open at the question as if the memory just flashed right before her.

"It… It felt like… an ice cold hand with its long nails… scrapping and clawing at my brain. It even felt as though I could feel the blood coming from it inside my head." Taki's voice seemed to become lower and lower as she spoke, but Sophitia heard every word and wished that she could wrap her arms around her to show that she wasn't alone.

'I'll avenge your misery Taki, as well as my own. You may be the best at hiding your feelings behind your back, but I know more about how you can be than your memory may believe.' Sophitia absentmindedly eased herself down to lightly sit herself upon Taki's lower back. 'And that would make us even, wouldn't it?' She inwardly chuckled but her smile came through as she lightly but affectionately let the two fingers of her right hand outline Taki's shoulder blade. 'You saved me from nearly being completely enveloped into the darkness of Soul Edge. Now, it's my turn to help you recover from the darkness' magic, somehow…'

Taki's thoughts were painlessly brought back to reality as Sophitia's rather curious demeanor seemed to change into a sorter and even loving one. This brought Taki to become confused and nervous at the same time as she peered ever so slightly towards Sophitia through the corner of her eye. The younger woman on top of her seemed to be lost within her own thoughts.

"You have a strange persona." Taki openly noted in a simple-sounding tone, making Sophitia physically stammer out of her thoughts as her eyes snapped to the Asian woman. "You're secretive yet quite persistent at the same time, it's like you're infatuated or something or other." She continued as if she answered her own elementary question, although Sophitia was surprised that Taki didn't seem to realize the connection between her own answer and herself.

"_Ahem._"

Sophitia whipped around to look behind her for the source of the timid-like sound, feeling the woman below her try to do the same but ultimately laid herself back onto the ground. This was due to the facts that the top half of her body suit was still half off and bending her back made her wound sting slightly.

Sophitia lowered her eyebrows with curiosity as Jaina stood a fair distance away next to a tree. Jaina smiled rather timidly at Sophitia as she raised a hand and bent her fingers in a slight wave as a 'Hi'.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Sophitia." Jaina stood herself straight and placed both hands on her straight yet distortedly wooden staff, having its head lean at the side of her own. "If my memory is correct, you know the most about this 'Nightmare', do you not?" She cocked her head to the side and leaned forward slightly, as if she was afraid that she might be wrong.

Sophitia blinked then lowered her head slightly but keeping her eyes upon Jaina's. "Y-yes. Some things." She answered as if she was both nervous and slightly suspicious of what Jaina had planned.

"Good." Jaina straightened herself again with a smile as if she was pleased. She spoke again before Sophitia could ask why. "I'll need you to tell me more about this 'Soul Edge' demon so that I can begin to work on a Soul Gem strong enough to hold it inside and hopefully purify it.'

Sophitia paused while her eyes darted from side to side; she was confused as to how someone like Jaina, someone who seemed to be so dedicated to being on the force of the light instead of the darkness would know how to create something that would be used for horrible purposes. However she remembered the fact that Jaina was a well-known, powerful sorceress to these alien lands, so with that in mind she waved her second thoughts about Jaina out of her mind.

"So, if you could please follow me. Taki you can come as well if you wish." Jaina suddenly spoke, abruptly breaking Sophitia from her thoughts. "I would like to start making it as soon as possible because it's kind of a long process." She leaned against the tree next to her as she waited for Sophitia to finish and put Taki's torso cover back on, which didn't take long.

Before Sophitia could turn around and ask where they were going when she had finished with Taki, both Taki and herself felt a single hand on both of their shoulders. Suddenly yet slowly they could feel themselves being pulled in several directions at once yet they didn't feel their bodies physically move much, as if it was only their insides. They watched in silence and awe as the scenery of the waterfall and meadow-like surroundings seemed to slowly dissolve before them within blinding blue lights that encircled them.

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Nightmare had been bored for days, but at least since his meet with Arthas he has been able to steal more souls without them even running off like they usually did when he was outside of this 'Azeroth'. The numbers that he had killed became quite visible on his blade; maybe another fifty pounds of flesh coated his living sword.

He had grown suspicious when Arthas' second in command, Kel'Thuzad, had the idea of making some sort of clone of Soul Edge. Nightmare had no idea how he would do such a thing even with his dark magics. Sure, he thought it was a clever idea at first because then more souls would be taken and the knights of these lands that dedicated themselves to the light would become less of a nuisance since the clone could act as a body guard. The problem was that, knowing himself, his own recreation of himself will want power just like himself and would even become an enemy.

He sat himself upon a dark wooden arm chair within Arthas' meeting hall, which contained a long rectangular and darkly wooden table, two chairs on each side of the table that were closest to the four windows adjacent to the door and a single chair that was more pre-eminent than the others at the head of the table. He sat in a discarded chair next to a window.

The dark clouds within the skies rolled passed as the ghouls collected resources below the necropolis. The smell of the rotting flesh tickled his nose slightly; he looked down to see a row of meat wagons below him, smirking as he brought his head back into the granite-colored room.

'Heh, I must give Arthas credit: at least he makes good use of the bodies. Darkness knows their souls are worthless to them so the bodies can be at least of _some_ use.' He thought as his gaze swept across the dead forest lands that surrounded Arthas' main base.

'_Don't speak of what you don't know!'_

Nightmare cringed as his weaker half's conscience broke through into his head. "Go back into you hiding place, you damn fool!" He spoke in a forced but harsh whisper as his hard sharply turned to the inside of the room, focusing on nothing but his intruder.

'_You may have control over my body and even my sanity, but you don't have control over MY mind and MY soul of what **I** believe, you soulless, bloodless creature!'_

Nightmare pulled back in a blink, surprised at his hostage's retort. He smirked beneath his dark helmet. 'Heh. My, my. When did you gain a little backbone, my gullible boy?" He mocked.

'_You played with my head back then, you took the advantage that I was young and willing to do anything to bring my father back from the grave. You know nothing about me now, filthy demon! You don't know how looking into the sightless eyes of the slain with their blood stained upon my own hands has increased my hatred against you.'_

Nightmare rolled his magma-colored eyes at the mortal's words as they dripped with hatred. His gaze landed upon the large, oval-shaped mirror with silver bones of a man's vertebrate as its rim just across from him near the head of the table. The emotionless eyes of his reflection stared back at him.

"Oh really?" Nightmare only focused on his weaker half and not his surroundings as he carelessly spoke aloud in a mocking tone to his own reflection. "Well the tell me." He leaned towards the mirror as if he was really interested in his hostage's coming reply. "If you hold so much hatred against me; the very brick wall that keeps you alive and yet you're so bent on claiming vengeance over the polluting of your sanity and soul, why don't you just break out of your cage that is Soul Edge?" He raised his eyebrow mockingly as he waited for a reply.

All was silent apart from the strong eerie wind that brushed against the dark walls of the necropolis and the endless movement coming from the ghouls on the ground below.

Nightmare lifted a corner of his lips in a half-smile and narrowed his eyes. He gave the corrupt knight's conscience ten more seconds to reply, eager to know what it might be. As the given time became spent and unused, he leaned back into his chair, satisfied.

He chuckled slowly at the boy's incompetence. "Face it; you'll be trapped in this dark cage until deat- Argh!" He grabbed his demonically deformed arm with his armored hand in pain as it began to feel like the blood within it was running through it at a faster pace. His chest felt like it was shaking as he breathed and pressure started to build within it. The claws of his deformed hand, although still in pain, attached themselves in a reflex to his broad chest plate in attempts of calming the frantically moving flesh beneath it.

'_I WILL break OUT!'_

Nightmare growled at the young knight's stubbornness. "You're more of a fool than I expected! Even if you _do_ break out do you think you'll escape an undead base alive! You'd think they'd easily notice the physical differences between you and me!" Nightmare roared at his own reflection.

He waited as the pressure within his arms and chest dimmed. He sneered at his reflection for a moment then turned to look back towards the dead lands, leaning against the stone window sill. He was still until he heard the door open with a 'creak'.

Arthas stood within the door's frame, his long spider web-like hair covering half of his face, although Nightmare could see that his face was as hard of stone. "Nightmare." Arthas addressed in a low tone as the dark knight by the window turned his head towards him in a rather careless and lazy fashion. "The creature that we found in your world is close to being completely ours and part of the Scourge, it's just up to you to make the final adjustments with the power of Soul Edge." Arthas informed plainly, not moving from where he stood in the door frame.

Nightmare paused as a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "What of that Sylvanas woman? Did she possibly fail and is too scared to return?" He turned to the silent Death Knight. "She seemed promising to our cause." He added simply as he pressed the tip of Soul Edge onto the stone ground and leaned upon it.

Arthas rolled his eyes at Nightmare's comment as he stepped forward. "She's as trusting and faithful as sending a living corpse with a single foot through a raging battle field of humans in a reliable sense." He answered truthfully but in a dull tone with a hint of sarcasm in it. "She's indeed promising as an assassin and certainly as an archer, I'll give her that. But as a follower of the Scourge and even as a possible leader of an undead base she's absolutely worthless, the little wench." Arthas sneered at his memories of when he always somehow forced Sylvanas to do what she was told.

Nightmare lowered his eyebrows in confusion as Arthas continued to mock and criticize the undead elf. "Why waste your time with her then? If she's so worthless kill her and be done with it instead of complaining about her." He advised as if Arthas' reluctance to kill someone who wasn't reliable and even possibly traitorous was pointless and even suicidal.

"I'm not that considerate." Arthas answered in a rather self-confident yet dark tone. "She deserves the fate that I gave her for her stubbornly reluctant attitude when she wouldn't let me passed her elven gate when she still had a soul." Arthas looked toward the side at the ground, arms folded across his skull-like chest plate. "She's slowing us down dramatically. If she takes any longer to complete such an easy task, I'll give her the retribution of being the guinea pig opponent for our new beast of a creature when she returns." Arthas smirked darkly. "If it fails to defeat her, then we'll continuously make it better until it does." Arthas' smirk turned into a grin at the thought. "I'll throw her into every fight even if she's bruised, cut and even maimed from the previous." He let out a menacingly excited but deep laugh at the idea.

Nightmare grinned at Arthas' evil innovations. "Well then," He started as he strode passed the Death Knight. "Let's not keep our monster of a golem waiting; darkness knows it will become ecstatic when it hears about your… generous offer of a guinea pig." Arthas grinned as he followed at the heels of the azure knight in front of him before he firmly shut the door behind them.

Once silence enveloped the room, a pale figure with long streaming hair and dressed in a gray cloak over a green dress peered through the window from the outside. She drifted through the air until she was halfway through the window while her long thin fingers clutched onto the window sill for better support and guidance. Her fiery red eyes that were really no where close to rivaling Sylvanas' looked toward the closed door then worriedly darted her eyes from side to side in thought.

"I must find and tell my queen." The pale woman concluded in her usual, deep and troubled whisper. She turned and flew out of the room with haste. "I must warn her of her dreadful fate if she should ever return to these desolate lands." With that she used all of her strength to make her soar through the skies at a faster speed.

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"I'd thank you to never do that again." Taki heaved with Sophitia's nod in agreement as backup when they found themselves in front of a dome-shaped building with metal planets whirling around at its roof. Jaina had just teleported them to a Sanctuary for the elves who practice magic and the effect of teleporting gave Taki and Sophitia a horrible jolt in their stomachs.

Jaina laughed slightly at their condition as though it was amusing. "Don't worry; once you've done it enough you'll get used to it." She exclaimed as she opened the round wooden door.

The inside made Sophitia's eyes go wide with surprise as the inside looked seven times bigger than the outside. "It looks like some sort of classroom." Sophitia noted aloud as she followed Jaina passed the rows of long wooden tables in the half-lit room. Some of the benches were occupied by one or two Blood elves, all having thick books with brown leather covers in front of them and trying a spell described in it.

"This is normally used for elves who are just beginning to learn magic for their own purposes and for battle. So if you see any elf in here who's still learning from the books, their mostly still beginners." Jaina explained as she got to the only vacant table in the room which was at the very front of it, however ignoring the protests of quite a few of the elves who had overheard her saying that they were beginners.

"Then why do you choose to come here?" Taki asked as she raised an eyebrow and sat herself down upon the wooden bench stool, Sophitia right next to her.

"I just find it a little easier to concentrate when I have to concoct the kind of spells that I'm going to be doing now." She stated simply as she placed a gem the size of a man's fist on the table in front of them. "Now, tell me what he looks like and what he's capable of."

Jaina's sudden requirement caught Sophitia off guard as she began to think. "Uh-er well, he's… a knight, head to toe in dark and thick armor, he has a deformed arm and his blade is covered with human flesh and a living eye." Sophitia spoke, keeping her eyes on the red to purple colored gem.

"I'm sure the human flesh on his blade is formed by the number of people he's killed?" Jaina raised her eyebrows beneath her hood.

"Yes." Sophitia sighed as she lowered her head at the horrible fact.

"And you've stood up to him?" Jaina seemed both intrigued and impressed as she leaned towards Sophitia.

"T'weren't easy." Sophitia shook her head as she watched Jaina smirk.

Jaina turned to Taki with raised eyebrows. "Did you know her by then?" Taki just blinked in her silence and looked to the side. Much to Sophitia and Jaina's surprise, Taki continued to stay silent; they thought she'd say 'no' right away.

"I… I'm not so sure anymore." Taki couldn't help thinking about the constant nightmares she'd been having lately. She was starting to hate them; it felt like they were trying to change her emotions of how she thought she had always felt toward love. Taki shook her head as she tried to get the thought out of her mind. "I don't… no, I don't think so." She stated as she continued to not make eye contact with either of them.

Jaina sighed as she felt sorry for Sophitia, who looked away as if she was going back into her depressed state.

"Is there anything else that you need from me?" Sophitia suddenly changed the subject but her voice was very distant and deep, making Jaina cock her head to one side slightly with sympathy in her eyes but did as Sophitia wanted.

"Well, to make things easier, you could just take the gem in your hand while I take a hold of it as well. Except while you're holding it, think of how Nightmare looks and all the terrible things he might do, and what you wish you could do to stop him." Jaina explained as she took the jewel within her hand and extended her arm out to Sophitia so that the many faces of the gem reflected her face. "Take it within your palm." She instructed.

Sophitia hesitantly did as she was told; she took it, shut her eyes and thought about all the things that Nightmare could possibly do to this world, both inside and out, if his power became too great and what she was willing to do to prevent it.

'I won't let him… I won't let Soul Edge take this world within his palm and crush it.' Sophitia thought to herself as she thought of buildings within villages going up in flames and black smoke filling the air. An image of Nightmare came before her and she sighed at the memory of him.

'I'm willing to try again; I'm willing to try and save Siegfried from his horrible fate of which he doesn't deserve.' Sophitia became so lost within her thoughts that she didn't even notice that the gem between Jaina's and her own palms began to glow a color lighter than its own.

Jaina kept herself focused as she felt the power within the gem begin to increase the more that Sophitia thought. Her job was to make sure that the gem was willing to absorb Sophitia's emotions and feelings. Her task was also to make sure that the power growing within it would stay inside and eventually harden within the gem so that it was durable enough to hold a powerful soul inside.

'Evil does not deserve to reign over any world. I will stop this, _we _will stop this. All of the races of this world will help us and thus evil itself stands no chance to the likes of us. The elves and humans of this world, Mina, Kilik, myself and Taki, who I will make sure is always by my side even if she doesn't remember the love we used to share, _we_ will stop this with the evil forces at their knees!'

Sophitia's overwhelming confidence began to show itself through her thoughts and through the gem as the glow around it increased dramatically. So much more did the glow and even the vibration within the gem rise that Jaina was having difficulty holding the gem between their palms. She eventually had to support her trembling arm with her free hand.

Taki's eyes went wide with each passing second. She eventually had to back herself away on the bench as the power within the jewel became more intense, even she who wasn't even close to touching the jewel could feel the power within it rising. She could also feel and incredible aura around Sophitia; she raised an eyebrow at her.

'Who _is_ this woman?' Taki thought to herself as she watched Sophitia's facial expressions become more serious and fierce. 'What could this Greek woman hold that would make her send such incredible waves?' She watched as Sophitia's face turned into one of rage, which made her slightly nervous. "Don't you think you should stop this?" She turned to Jaina in slight alarm.

"The more power the better the chances of capturing the demon!" Jaina stated in a shout, since the power was becoming harder to control, as she kept her eyes focused on the gem, the power continuing to grow within it.

'The terror, the pain, the killing and burning, it'll all end and it'll never resurface, Taki and I'll see to that for the good of life itself with the help of this little gem!' Sophitia's last vow made her eyes snap open with a fierce look in her eyes as her gaze snapped to the gem. This made the power complete as it came in a hard wave that crashed against Jaina's palm. The force was so great that Jaina ended up nearly falling backwards off the bench but still held the gem within her palm.

Sophitia looked up at the heaving sorceress across from her with her normal expression upon her face as if she had just been broken from a daydream. "Is that enough?" She asked in a soft voice.

Jaina took a couple breaths before she answered. "Yes, that should be plenty." She took the gem into both of her own hands as she spoke. "All I have to do it seal the power within it, so that I don't need you for." She stated in a soft tone.

"All we need to do is find Nightmare." A deep but feminine voice spoke behind them. They all snapped their eyes upon the Night elf priestess, Tyrande standing at the edge of the table. "You put on quite a show." She stated with a smirk as she gestured around the room.

The three around the table looked at her with confusion, but when they looked around the room they noticed that every elf who was originally practicing their own magic were staring at them in a wide-eyed awe.

"What're you gawking at? Never seen magic before?" Taki spoke up cockily with a raised eyebrow, making all the male elves clear their throat while some of the female elves just rolled their eyes before they continued with their magic practicing.

"Sylvanas had spoken of him; Nightmare." Sophitia suddenly noted in a somewhat distant tone as she looked at the ground, as if she completely missed what Taki just did. However, Sophitia's statement made everyone around her table turn to her in surprise.

"You're not thinking of going over by yourself to Sylvanas' cell are you? Do you know how foolish that is?" Taki spoke up after a few brief seconds of silence.

"As foolish as it may sound to you, she will bring us a step closer to him." Sophitia spoke, looking down at the table.

"And just what makes you think she'll give you information willingly?" Taki raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward. Sophitia looked up at her softly but confidently.

"She didn't sound too fond of this 'Arthas', and since Nightmare sided with him, perhaps she may be of some help." Sophitia stood up as she finished and turned to Tyrande, who gave her a soft look. "Where is Sylvanas' cell?" She asked in a hard, serious tone.

Tyrande was silent for a few seconds, as if she was questioning herself whether she should put her into the harm of telling her. She sighed slightly. "It's not far from here. However, you being her original prey and as the elf of highest rank in Ashenvale I won't permit you to approach someone as dangerous as Sylvanas, not just yet anyway." Tyrande advised strongly.

Sophitia sighed; she didn't think that even Tyrande would turn her down. She turned to Jaina. "How long will that take to be complete?" She asked her the same tone that she had with Tyrande, she pointed at the ruby-like gem.

Jaina hesitated before she spoke. "A day, perhaps." She replied simply. Sophitia nodded slightly as she turned to walk through the Sanctuary and to the rounded door.

"Where the hell are you going off to now?" Taki asked, still seated but leaning toward Sophitia's direction. Sophitia didn't turn to look at her as she placed her hand on the golden handle of the door.

"Don't worry, I won't be going far, nor will I be long." She answered in a dull tone as she opened the door and stepped out to be greeted by the twilight sky and soft fresh breeze.

Taki looked up to Tyrande as the door shut behind her. Much to Tyrande's slight surprise, she could see worry in Taki's eyes even though it was well hidden within her almond orbs. She looked down to her 'battle companion' behind her, who was enjoying its time as it cleaned its white face with its paw.

"Starstrider!" Tyrande called in a soft tone. The tiger's glowing eyes snapped to hers, awaiting its new job. "Follow her. Defend her the best that you can if she gets into trouble." She pointed to where Sophitia had left. With a twitch of the ears Starstrider went off, pushing the door open and stealthily going about her task.

Taki turned to Tyrande with a raised eyebrow and Tyrande turned to exit while replying with a single nod as if to say 'not to worry'.

"Why are you so worried about Sophitia's well being?" Jaina suddenly asked with a knowing smirk. Taki sharply turned to her with lowered eyebrows, then looked away.

"It's just that she can be so stubborn at times and I don't want her to run headlong into trouble." Taki stated as her gaze swept to the gem in Jaina's hands. "Can I have a look at that?" Taki brought out her palm. Jaina hesitated, then slowly leaned forward to place it in her palm.

"Just don't drop it; the gem can be quite fragile when it's filled with raw power." Jaina explained as she gently placed it into Taki's palm.

Taki jumped; when the red mist-like filled gem made contact with her flesh she felt a strange jolt that ran through her body and something like a dream flashed into her head:

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Taki held what looked like a pale and weak young blonde haired woman in her arms, surrounded by maple trees and a river, the moonlight was their only guide through the darkness of the night. The girl's eyes were glossy and distant, almost as if she was dead if it hadn't been for the slow rising and falling of her chest.

The girl was the only person lying down while Taki leaned against a tree, keeping the girl's head to rest upon her upper chest. The girl suddenly rubbed her cheek against Taki's upper chest and it looked like it took her some effort to do so. Taki gasped at the feeling and looked down at her and, wanting to see her face, lifted the girl's head by placing her finger underneath her chin.

The girl's amazonite however distant eyes seemed filled with emotion that needed a response. Taki, out of sympathy and something else that drifted about her heart for this girl, couldn't help but let her hand travel to the woman's nape while her thumb rested on her cheek as she eased her head down and gently capture her lips with her own unmasked ones. She loved the feel of this woman's soft lips upon her own.

She felt and heard the golden haired girl whimper in response as she closed her eyes, feeling the girl respond the best that she could despite how paralyzed she felt. After a few brief moments Taki reluctantly broke away and looked deeply into her aventurine eyes that were filled with even more emotions even though they had trouble focusing; her eyes were still a bit glossy.

"Try to rest now, I'll watch over you." Taki assured in a soothing voice and a smile. The girl obliged by slowly closing her heavy eyes as Taki rested her head back on her upper chest. Taki continued to sooth the blonde to sleep by running her fingers softly through her hair as she prayed that this girl would be alright.

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Taki jumped, making the gem nearly fly out of her hands. Jaina looked at her strangely. Taki looked up at her, slightly out of breath.

'What the hell just happened!' Taki looked down at the tabletop, lost in thought and confusion.

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Sophitia walked out into the woods, knowing that she'd find her way back to the base in the capital, Ashenvale. She stopped before a calm lake with tree-covered mountains in the distance. To her, she was surprised by how much evil can spread through lands as tranquil as these, but then again, darkness can come in all forms and can absorb anything, besides the light itself, within it.

The twilight sky, bright moon and stars that somewhat shone themselves reflected upon the surface of the still water. She sat herself upon a bolder near the waters edge.

"The way she looked at me, it looked as if she was scolding me." Sophitia spoke aloud, not caring about anything else around her as she enjoyed the silence. "But that just shows that she's beginning to care about me more." She smiled faintly then after a few second crossed her arms and leaned them onto her knees. "Although my missing the feel of her strong and warm arms around me has become unbearable. The gentleness of her touch, her soft eyes that were always filled with love when they landed upon me, the utter sweetness and warmth of her kiss…" Sophitia's eyes began to cloud up with tears and they fell as her gaze landed upon the ring Taki gave her, making Taki's promise echo in her head. She closed her eyes tightly in response. "I'll live up to my vow of helping Taki, I'll bring her memory back!" She choked out a sob as she formed a tight fist.

"Ugh…You humans are so pathetic, do you know that?"

Sophitia jumped as she looked up to a high tree limb where the noise seemed to come from. She gasped as she stepped back a few steps, nearly tripping in the process as she had already recognized the mysterious voice.

Up on a limb with one leg dangling off the side while the other went along the branch sat her former predator; Sylvanas. The undead elf looked at her strangely, as if she no longer cared about Sophitia being her prey. At the Greek's gasp, Sylvanas stood up, hopped upon the lower branch and opened her weaponless cloak.

"You need not fear me now; I've been stripped of my weapons even though I did escape seeing as to how I still knew how to get out of elven locks." She explained as though she was disgraced that they took her weapons. Sophitia looked at her in confusion.

"W…why didn't you run away while you had a chance?" Sophitia asked, still not willing to approach the archer. Sylvanas looked to the side towards the lake.

"I would have, but then I figured what was the point? I'd only be under the command of that bastard again." She explained as her blood-red eyes were emotionless. Sophitia's eyes darted for a few seconds.

"I need information from you." She stated in a nervous tone, but kept her guard.

"Ah ha…" Sylvanas seemed to chuckle as she turned to the human. "Really? You need help from an undead person?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I need you to tell me where Nightmare is." She continued, not paying attention to Sylvanas' words.

"Oh, I see; going to divide and conquer, eh?" Sylvanas laughed within her throat.

"Something like that, yes." Sophitia replied more confidently.

"Well, wish I could, but can't tell you." Sylvanas replied stubbornly. Sophitia lowered her eyebrows at the woman who jumped off of the branch and walked into the water, causing it to be disturbed by ripples.

"I know you're not fond of Arthas, so what's the point of fighting against us instead of helping us defeat him? Perhaps if we to that, you can finally be at peace." Sophitia spoke as she took a step towards the lone figure in front of her.

Sylvanas paused. "I'll never be at peace thanks to him!" She yelled harshly but didn't turn around to face her. The was another few seconds of silence. "You don't know… you don't know what he did to me! He destroyed my soul! He turned me into this monstrosity!" She harshly kicked the water, shattering her reflection for a few seconds before mending back together. She kneeled down into the water, Sophitia could hear her choke in her sobs that threatened to come out. Sylvanas gripped the wet sand at her feet. "I'll kill him… I'LL KILL HIM!"

Sophitia began to feel sorry for this lost creature; someone who has no soul, it must be the worst to go through. There would be no reason to live and no reason to die. She slowly walked over to Sylvanas, standing right behind her. She carefully tried to place one hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." She spoke in a soft tone, but her hand was harshly knocked away by Sylvanas' hand, it almost felt as though Sylvanas had nearly broke Sophitia's wrist when she whacked her hand away.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME HUMAN! I DON'T NEED YOUR SYMPATHY!" Sylvanas shouted in blind rage, but Sophitia could see the tears in her eyes when she turned around. Sylvanas turned back to look at the waters of the lake.

Sophitia paused. "What if I tried to reclaim a soul? If I tried to mend the pieces it back together?" Sophitia asked in a soft tone, trying to sound reassuring.

"It would be a lost cause-"

"It would be worth a try." Sophitia interrupted with a sincere look in her face. Sylvanas turned to her with narrowed eyes.

"And why are you so willing to help me? One who tried to kill you? How should I know whether you're just going to leave me in the dust or not when this is over?" She asked suspiciously.

Sophitia looked at her pale blue face and red eyes for a moment. "I am the sentinel of a god where I come from. When I vow to do something I intend to keep it." She stated in a soft tone.

Sylvanas slowly looked down. "For Arthas' head… and my soul… I will help you." Here eyes snapped to Sophitia's as she glared at her. "But, for me being the only undead person here, this doesn't mean that I truly trust or like you and that goes to the others as well." Her voice was in a warning tone.

Sophitia sighed. "I figured as much. Now can you tell me where Nightmare is?" She leaned forward slightly.

Sylvanas looked down to the waters again. "…I'll bring him here." She turned to the tree that she had sat upon. "You may reveal yourself my sister."

Sophitia's eyes widened when she heard her say 'sister' as she whipped her head around to the tree to find a ghostly figure floating behind it. "W-what is that?" She asked hesitantly as the pale womanly figure came forward.

"…My banshee; I'm their queen." Sylvanas answered simply as she turned to her banshee. "Go and bring Nightmare here. Do not rush yourself; we'll need to be prepared for his assault." She ordered.

"And if he refuses?" Sophitia heard her speak as it was in a slight echo and her voice was in torment and despair. The more she would see of these forsaken undead the more she felt sorry for them to be trapped into soulless bodies.

"Use my name." Sophitia suddenly spoke up, making both pairs of red eyes snap to hers. "He'll remember me, I know he will. Just urge him into coming and finding me." Sylvanas' eyebrows rose in intrigue; she was a brave one.

The banshee left at Sylvanas' slow nod, taking one last look at Sophitia as she left. Sophitia noticed that Sylvanas was looking down into her reflection. The longer Sylvanas stared the harder it became to control her tears as she looked down at her hideous face and body. Her hand tightened into a fist as she tried to control it; she was going to have more than just Arthas' head for this. She stopped as she felt a gentle warm hand on her clammy skinned shoulder. Sylvanas closed her eyes and chuckled.

"You are so damn stubborn." She stated in a low voice.

"So I've been told." Sophitia replied with a smirk, letting her fingers move on Sylvanas' shoulder in a slow soothing fashion. She looked down to the ripping waters holding thenight sky's and Sylvanas' lostreflection.

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Sorry this one took so long, I'm jumping between fics, the new one will be coming out eventually. Starstrider will show up in the next chap. And the visions will be explained. More of how Sylvanas is will come out in the next one as well. How the whole scene went when the banshee told Sylvanas about Arthas' plan will be told in the next one also.


	10. Coming of the Observant Eye

Do not own Warcraft or Soulcalibur characters unfortunately.

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Chapter 10: Coming of the Observant Eye

Taki couldn't get over how that vision had played in her head or why it happened in the first place. It just didn't make any sense to her; when did she ever be with someone in that way? Let alone have her mask off in front of someone she didn't even know and kiss them for some reason that wasn't really apparent to her.

She walked through the puddle-scattered capital as her brown eyes observed the elves, markets and ziggurats as she passed them by. Of course she was really looking for Sophitia since Taki's help wasn't really needed anywhere and she had become nervous of Sophitia's whereabouts. She felt the wind brush against her neck and through her tied-up ebony hair as she heard a familiar voice call her from behind.

She turned to see Mina running up to her with her beloved Zanbatou in hand and a slight smile on her face with Kilik walking behind her with his staff slightly over his shoulder.

"Where have you two been?" Taki raised an eyebrow at the some of the bandaged areas on their limbs.

"Tra…Training." Mina answered, out of breath. "With the… Night el… elven archers." Mina paused and tried to regain some of her lost breath. Taki looked over to Kilik, who shrugged as he didn't seem as out of breath as she was.

"Basically, they shot arrows at us and we had to guard them as they came. That's why we look this way." Kilik explained as he pointed to the bandages. Taki raised an eyebrow at this information.

"You mean they just… suddenly shot their arrows at you?" Taki asked, finding this behavior of Night elves to be strange.

Mina finally looked up at Taki. "No, we were both kind of bored at the time and the archers looked the same way so we just found this as a way of passing the time. They gave us thick fur throes so that if the arrow got us in the chest, the impact wouldn't be as great as it would've been. It was fun." Mina concluded as if she was excited about what they just did and was willing to do it again. "You want to try?" Mina asked as she pointed in the direction of a rooted, living tree, which was the direction she just came from.

Taki blinked and shrugged slightly. "Sure, I don't have anything else to do for the time being anyway. Plus, I guess it would be great training for the confrontation of Nightmare." She openly stated as she headed towards the tree. Kilik and Mina both turned to her in alarm.

"W-what?" Mina yelled as she grabbed Taki's shoulder to maker her look at her. "When was this decision suddenly made?"

"Today." Taki answered simply. "It was Jaina's idea. Using Sophitia, she made a gem that would somehow trap Nightmare's soul or demon-self within it. So, in order to trap the demon, we need the demon to be in front of us, or so I'm guessing; I don't know what Jaina has planned next, but..." Taki explained Jaina's idea as if it was a step-by-step process and was simple in understanding. Taki continued to walk to the living tree that seemed to slightly sway from side to side.

"Oh." Mina looked to the side as she looked for her next sentence. "So do we know how to lure Nightmare here without having a whole bunch of moaning and limping creatures chasing us?" Mina raised an eyebrow, hoping that Taki would say 'yes'. The memory of when the last horde of undead came after her still made her grimace.

"Nope." Taki stated simply as she looked down at the ground as she walked upon it.

"That's reassuring." Kilik commented with a sigh as he looked towards their destination. Mina nodded in agreement as she brushed her amber-brown bangs out of her eyes.

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"It'll be quite the entertainment when we set it loose." Nightmare thought as he walked through the death-ridden grounds of Arthas' base. He ha just come from seeing Arthas' new 'bodyguard' that came from Nightmare's own world. The creation showed quite a bit of enthusiasm for Arthas' plans of mindless soul-stealing and endless massacres.

The creature was now or supposedly still head to toe in chains that were attached to a solid stone wall. Its strength was so great that the wall behind him began to have cracks at the chain's hinges from his constant pulling and thrashing against them.

It was more than reluctant to stay still and had the tendency to knock any undead warrior near it against the wall opposite of where it was chained with its arms and brute strength. It kept shouting "Don't keep me waiting for the souls you promise to me!" as he continued to thrash against its chains.

Kel'Thuzad stayed with the creature most of the time to use his dark magic to calm it. The lich used a frost spell that came from his own breath and blew his chilling breath against the creature and the cold atmosphere around it eventually calmed it slightly. Of course when the spell had faded, then the creatures rage rose again and would continue to knock and throw warriors and acolytes alike and thrash against his bindings.

Nightmare left because he had done his deed with his flesh-enveloped blade by bringing the creature to life and being partly under the command of Soul Edge. There was no need for Nightmare and he knew it at this point. He didn't want to waste his time anyway with a stubborn creature when a lich as wise as Kel'Thuzad seemed to be could handle the beast himself.

Nightmare stopped at the edge of Arthas' dark base. He looked back and sneered slightly; it had been a while since he was truly alone and he liked the feeling when he was. He turned back to the forests and headed through its decaying trees and dead grass. The foggy air increased in thickness the further he went and he liked it. It made him feel like nothing could disturb him, which, as he took second thought, was in actuality strange to him like he had never really felt so calm before just for being alone.

He stopped and sat on a dark colored boulder, taking in his surroundings. He suddenly felt a strange cold sensation on his neck; it felt like he was being watched. He whipped his head around to look behind him.

"Speak all those who wish to hide instead of confront me!" He called as he stood himself and eyed the dark forest around him. There was a pause and he suddenly heard a deep dreary voice speak far at his side.

"Azure Knight." The voice was feminine and sounded somewhat troubled as it called behind a tree. Nightmare looked around to find a woman drift from behind a tall decaying tree, her gray dress fluttering behind her in the moist air as she went. Her fiery eyes bore into his own.

"What kind of a spirit are you? Why do you dare disturb me?" Nightmare asked as he surveyed the pale woman and her expressionless face.

"I'm no spirit nor demon, merely a banshee here to make a proposition for you." She answered calmly in her shadowy voice as she continued to stay stationary yet levitate above the ground while holding the tree she stood behind.

Nightmare raised his eyebrows in intrigue. "A banshee? And you bare a proposition yet I remember you're under the command of Sylvanas Windrunner, are you not?" He asked calmly although he smirked at this little interaction between himself and a messenger of a woman who he and Arthas considered a possible traitor.

"I am." She answered calmly even though she could sense his slight glee in the interaction. "Sylvanas sent me to tell you that she knows of a woman that you might be interested in meeting again." She informed, finally moving her body figure by lifting her head slightly to be level with his.

Nightmare laughed at the woman's claim. "A woman? Why would a woman be of any use to me?" He continued to laugh.

"Her soul may be of great value to you." The banshee actually seemed to smile although she tried to hide her grin. "Her name is Sophitia Alexandra. She is from your own world, do you know of her?" The banshee turned her head slightly to the side as she asked.

Nightmare's expression of amusement turned into one of seriousness, he actually went a little wide-eyed at the sound of the name. He looked up to the gray skies as he remembered the last time they had their little confrontation. "Sophitia… yes, I remember her. She tried to stop me… or to put it in her words, 'save' me." He stated softly then heis gaze swept up to the skies as a grin spread across his face. "Oh her soul would be of great value and I'd love to see the horror in the sentinel's eyes when she sees and watches me plunge the blade she tried to destroy through her stomach. I'd love to hear that scream echo through the woods." Nightmare spoke aloud to himself, not caring if the banshee heard him. He looked at her for a few seconds. "How does Sylvanas know that I have the fancy to kill her?" He asked rather suspiciously.

The banshee paused, trying to think of an explanation since she didn't know that he'd actually question the proposition. "She had overheard this 'Sophitia' speak of you while she was searching for her prey and was wondering if you would want to have the honor of killing her since she has no real use for her." She lied, hoping that would be all Nightmare would ask about.

Nightmare paused and looked at the banshee for any sign that she had been lying, but her face was so pale and her eyes were so red it was rather heard to tell her emotions. "I see." Nightmare stepped toward the banshee. "Take me to her."

The banshee smiled. "Of course, Azure Knight. I will fly you to their whereabouts." She stated, although for the sake of her queen having time to prepare, she would take her own time in bringing Nightmare to the Elves' campsite. "Arthas won't need to know where you are of course since the woman's death will surely be quick since I've heard so much about you." The banshee knew that every dark killer and leader loved to be flattered so she inwardly smiled at her lie.

"Of course. I wouldn't tell him anyway; it isn't any of his business." Nightmare thought aloud as he came to her. She inwardly grinned at how well her queen's plans were coming together.

'That living woman Sylvanas tried to kill didn't look like a traitorous one in the least, but she better not have any idiotic plans of destroying my queen.' The banshee thought as she took a part of the knight's armor in her hand and began to lift them weightlessly from the ground. 'I just hope my queen knows what she's getting herself into.' She thought hopefully as she lifted her gaze to the skies that held the color of her face.

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"Do you really believe your… erm, banshee will bring Nightmare all the way over here?" Sophitia asked as she leaned against a nearby trunk. She and Sylvanas hadn't moved from their area since Sylvanas' servant left to fetch the dark knight.

Sylvanas' bloody gaze swept up to the twilight, amber skies that was at its peak and would soon fall into the darkness of night. She noticed that gray clouds began to cascade closer to them from the Northeast of where she stood. "I have no doubt. Sharlindra is very loyal to me." She stated. Her misty voice was very mysterious to Sophitia's ears. Sophitia looked down as she paused and dug the toe of her boot into the rich ground. Sylvanas could sense her slight nervousness and hesitation. She chuckled within her throat as she turned her head slightly to speak. "Do you fear me?" She peered out through her hood so that Sophitia could only see a speck of the bright red color of her eyes.

"I'm… just… surprised. That's all." Sophitia spoke softly then paused. "That I have actually earned the trust of not only an undead person but of one who also tried to kill me."

"Did you forget already? I don't trust you nor do I like you; not only for being one of the living but one who relies so much on other people, it's such a foolish thing to do." Sylvanas stated in a sneer as she turned back to gaze at the rippling waters of the lake.

"That's not true!" Sophitia retorted which surprised Sylvanas slightly, but her sneer came back as Sophitia continued. "To rely on other people shows that you have respect and honor." She stated. Sylvanas whirled around to stare her right in the eye, her blood red gaze made Sophitia flinch slightly but didn't look away.

"Relying on someone is suicide. I even knew that when I was still alive! You have to trust _your_ life and _your_ honor in _your own_ hands, not in somebody else's!" Sophitia raised an eyebrow in surprise at how sincere Sylvanas sounded when it came to believing in such things. Normally Sophitia thought that all undead and evil were mindless and had no real morals, but this undead archer showed her different. "You always have to assume the worst when in battle, that way you don't end up killed because you laid your life in the hands of someone else!" Sylvanas' bloody eyes narrowed into slits. "You weep over your former love and you hope that she will always save you whether she loves you or not! That alone is foolish, you must always take care of yourself. Her mind is half-gone as well, so relying on yourself would be the smartest thing you could do." She stated in a firm tone. Sylvanas raised an eyebrow as Sophitia's eyes became very focused on hers even though they held confusion.

"How… How did you know that Taki's memory is half-gone?" Sophitia's eyes began to dart then went wide as realization came to her, but she said nothing until she heard the truth from this undead assassin.

Sylvanas' eyes kept on hers as she leaned back onto her leg while she lifted her other, having her knee close to her chest and resting her arm horizontally on her knee-joint and having in close to her mouth; she looked like she was kneeling to a highly-ranked lord. Sylvanas looked down to the side for a few seconds then back up to Sophitia, who held her gaze.

"The necromancer, did you hear of him? The one who attacked your… beloved?" Sylvanas sounded as if bringing that word from her dark lips was quite difficult. She watched as Sophitia nodded her head slowly. Sylvanas sighed silently. "I had sent him to gather information of your whereabouts." Before she could say more, Sophitia grabbed the collar of her ragged cloak in a flash and brought her close. Sylvanas was surprised to see the amount of surprised rage in the girl's face.

"Y-you?" Sophitia started as her face screwed into even more rage. She closed her eyes tightly as if she could feel her inner self scolding her. "I should've known. I should've seen it!" She threw Sylvanas hard against a tree, hearing her grunt as she hit the trunk of the tree. She grabbed Sylvanas again and pushed her hard against the tree. "And you knew the consequences of sending your little magician on Taki!" Her teeth grit as she made Sylvanas look her right into the eye by wrapping her hand around her throat.

Sophitia could tell she was hiding her thoughts to herself by the way Sylvanas had her fiery eyes narrowed at her.

She looked at Sylvanas vengefully as she pressed the heel of her palm into the base of Sylvanas' throat to make her speak; she wanted to hear her side of the story even though she had a feeling it would be a brutal one for her heart to hear seeing as to how Sylvanas had such a vengeful spirit when she was confronted by her.

It took Sylvanas two tried to push her voice throat that was being blocked. "For your information, I didn't know he was going to go that far." Sylvanas noted as she hardly moved her jaw as she spoke but clenched it in frustration.

Sophitia raised an eyebrow as she pressed Sylvanas harder against the tree making her wince slightly. "What do you take me for? How could you not know he was going to take her memory when you said it yourself that you had sent him?" Sophitia asked in a forceful and demanding voice as her muscles began to tense from holding the pale blue woman. Because of what she now knew about what Sylvanas seemed to have done to her love, Sophitia's pity for this creature slowly fell.

Sylvanas struggled and gasped against Sophitia's round shield that pressed into her chest to lock her against the thick tree. "I sent him but I didn't think he would care to go as deep as he did into that demon huntress' mind." She stated in a rather projective voice and widened eyes as if she was hoping that Sophitia, being the sentinel that she is, could see the truth in her eyes no matter how demonic they appeared.

Sophitia narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she let off of Sylvanas' throat but just enough to make Sylvanas stay in her position. She was speechless as her eyes that were written with question and confusion stared into her undead captive's gaze.

Sylvanas could tell she was debating in her head but she just wanted to end this pointless feud. "I wasn't even with him at the point that he was with her! I was watching the encampment they were visiting while my hordes battled against them." Sylvanas informed as she leaned her head as far forward as she could as if she was voicelessly saying 'how can you not see it?'. She groaned in an annoyed tone as Sophitia continued to pause before she let go of Sylvanas' throat.

"Just what are you trying to tell me? Because you appear to be stalling." Sophitia stated in a deep and serious tone as she backed away a few steps. She wanted an explanation for the loss of her real true love's memory. To her, even though Sylvanas thought of her love for the demon huntress as being useless and idiotic, Sophitia didn't care; Taki's smile, strong positivism, considerate persona and loving embrace underneath her masculine demon-huntress shell.

Sylvanas rubbed her throat and adjusted her ruffled cloak slightly before she spoke. "When looking into the mind of the living, one can go so deep so fiercely that the memory can be almost if not completely lost. But this rarely happens, which is why it actually surprised me when I figured out what he did to the huntress." She looked over to the side as if to avoid Sophitia's gaze that was now quite intent upon Sylvanas. "I remembered my necromancer telling me at one point that the huntress appeared to be quite fond of my blonde target, so by the way this 'Taki' acted around you when she stopped me, I could already tell what my necromancer did." She informed then hesitantly looked back up.

Sophitia took a step forward. "And you never said anything?" She looked at the pale figure in frustrated surprise.

Sylvanas raised an eyebrow. "You never asked." She replied with a smirk. Sophitia stood straight as she looked back with an annoyed expression. Sylvanas just watched as Sophitia's gaze slowly lowered and softened, she looked like she was now deep in thought. The undead elf just crossed her arms over her chest and sat down upon a patch of grass with one leg over the other and leaned her back onto the tall tree. She closed her eyes tightly and sighed as if she was still slightly annoyed by watching this living warrior's struggle for her love. "As I said…" She started in a low voice. "I didn't know he was going to go that far. So don't blame me for your loss." She stated with her red eyes remaining closed, not caring to look upon the blonde warrior's troubled and even lost gaze.

Sophitia sighed after a moment and looked to the sky's reflection upon the shimmering waters of the lengthy lake. "And the person I would claim vengeance on for Taki is now dead, at least if I remember what you said correctly." She looked over to Sylvanas to see her nod once to say that what she said was true. Sophitia looked back again. "So I guess there's nothing left for me to do now but hope that Taki's memory will return eventually." She thought out loud but in a very soft voice as if she thought no one would hear her.

Sophitia's words mad Sylvanas Sigh in relief; the pointless argument finally ended. She ran her fingers along one of her long and clammy-skinned ears which were the only part of her that displayed her Elven heritage besides her skill in archery and her ability to still speak Elven. She made a face that looked like what she was about to mention disgusted her and didn't care about it anyway. She sighed as she ultimately made herself speak it as she saw the bright warrior's gloomy and rather listless state. "There is a way to bring her memory back you know." She stated in a careless tone.

Sophitia immediately whipped around to look at Sylvanas, who didn't look up at her in return. Her expression held extreme surprise as she looked at the undead elf before her. "There is? Are you serious!" She asked with a voice full of hope as she came closer to the hooded elf that seemed to pay no attention to her.

"Would I lie to you?" Sylvanas peered towards Sophitia's hopeful gaze through her hood.

Sophitia pulled back slightly and hesitated at the question. "M…must I answer that?" She asked in a cautious question as if she was really serious.

Sylvanas' narrowed gaze snapped completely to hers at her response, she slowly looked away as she continued. "Anyway, I'm not exactly sure how to bring someone's memory back; I wasn't taught undead magic." She explained simply. "It just takes some finesse. Try to find ways to remind her without scaring her off." She watched as Sophitia looked down in thought to her words. "Of course, if it was me, I'd just let it come to her slowly while giving her… _hints_." She raised an eyebrow at what said, not really believing it.

"I'll do my best." Sophitia spoke in a hardly audible voice that Sylvanas could hear with her long ears. Sylvanas' gaze snapped to hers, which still remained in a daze. The forest was silent apart from the constant rustling of the leaves above caused by the soft breeze. "Perhaps you should tell your elven and human friends that your bearer of Soul Edge is coming. I trust my banshee will return by the time the sun completely sets behind the trees." Sylvanas informed after minutes of silent hesitation. Sophitia just looked up at her for a second then nodded as she stood herself straight.

Suddenly there was a low growling sound within the trees, making Sophitia snap towards the thick forest while Sylvanas just turned her head a quarter of the way as if she didn't take it as much of a surprise as Sophitia did.

A big animal on all fours with white fur and bright blue focused eyes crept out of the leaves of a thick bush. Sophitia's eyes widened though she took a step forward as Tyrande's battle companion focused her eyes upon the undead creature that looked back at the black-striped tiger expressionlessly as if she found no threat in it.

"Starstrider!" Sophitia called as she came toward the tiger that growled deeply and viciously again at the hooded figure. "It's okay! She isn't a threat!" She assured the best that she could while she tried to make the defensive tiger turn to her. With a loud roar the battle cat came forward at full speed towards the demonic elf.

Sylvanas quickly stood herself onto her feet and pushed her cloak so that it was off of her brown leather arm guards making her defend herself better. With a 'bang!' Sylvanas' eyebrows rose with intrigue and surprise as Sophitia was already in front of her, holding the huge tiger's strength back with her golden-rimmed shield.

"Sh-she's not trying to kill me!" Sophitia grunted as she held the beast back. Starstrider wouldn't let up her strength, although Sylvanas was surprised that the Greek still kept her feet firmly planted onto the ground. She wasn't surprised however that the tiger was trying with all her might to defend this human.

"I'll deal with her." Sylvanas stated in a low voice as she waited for the white and black-striped beast to make eye contact with her. When Starstrider's fierce eyes locked onto hers, Sylvanas mumbled a chant as her blood red eyes melded into a very deep purple color as her eyes went wide in concentration.

As Sophitia continued to hold her back, she noticed that the tiger's strength began to falter and decrease. The feline beast suddenly fell right to the ground with Sophitia nearly falling on top of her. Sophitia pulled back her shield as she looked into the tigers eyes to find them in a strange daze and almost glassy even with her blue iris seemed to now have a purple hue.

"She'll be fine; she's just in a trance or dream state basically." Sylvanas informed after she merely blinked to break her concentration and make her eyes turn back into their deep red color as Sophitia was checking over the fallen creature. The concerned blonde turned to her in confusion but keeping one hand on the beast's collarbone as it was lying on its side.

"You did this? How?" The Greek asked out of confusion and curiosity.

Sylvanas came forward slowly as she looked down slightly. "It was a 'gift' that my banshees taught me when I first became their queen." She answered as she gently nudged the dazed creature with her foot. "She'll be fine here by herself and I'm sure she'll come around eventually. You just better go." She suggested softly.

"What'll you do?" Sophitia asked as she stroked Starstrider's soft thick fur before she stood herself up from her kneeling position and checked her shield for any flaws or scratches that the white tiger might have caused.

Sylvanas looked in the direction of the base of the Night and Blood Elves. "I'll slip in when it's dark enough and I'll try and retrieve my weapons. Until Nightmare comes, I'll hide in the trees and if you and your elves need help against him, well, I'll help in my own way in the trees." She answered expressionlessly apart from her raised eyebrow as she turned to head into the endless trees.

"If you say so." Sophitia replied softly as she turned to leave. "I'll make sure that the bases are ready for Nightmare's assault." She stated broadly as she turned to leave without looking at her undead cooperative.

Sylvanas couldn't help but laugh, making Sophitia turned to her quizzically. "You sound so afraid." She stated but still sounded amused. "My banshee told me that his demonic self isn't that stable since he kept talking to himself when she was eavesdropping for me."

Sophitia could tell that Sylvanas thought of Nightmare as useless and hardly a threat, which she could only sigh at. "You don't know him like I do. You don't know the devastation I've seen caused by him. I know that you or Arthas may not be too different in that respect as well, but Nightmare's caused more murders in my world than you two have in this world. Trust me; I've fought against him before." Sophitia spoke in a low serious tone as she looked at the archer's pale face that was now plain as it looked back at her own. Sophitia slowly turned to leave with a formal nod. "Good luck in getting your weaponry and… erm…. Goodnight." She spoke hesitantly as he left through the brushes and trees.

Sylvanas just watched her form blankly as it disappeared through the brushes. She raised an eyebrow at her "Goodnight"; she was the first in a very long while to say that simple word to her. After darting her eyes a few times she just pushed the thought out of her head and mentally shrugged as she turned and leapt from tree limb to tree limb.

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"Oh ho! Our curious yet determined human is back!" A Night Elven archer with her bow on her shoulder stated with a grin as Taki, Mina and Kilik came up to the huge tree called the Ancient of War. When the archer looked at Mina excitedly from the tree and spoke of her race and personality some of the other archers that were stationed there for the time being immediately turned to her direction.

Taki's gaze swept across the grinning archers then turned to Mina with a raised eyebrow. "They know you well." She stated cockily, knowing it was obvious. Mina just turned to her and shrugged as she smiled.

"Here to play target practice with us again?" Another archer came forward with a smirk. Her eyes landed on Mina and Kilik's bandages then widened in surprise. "Didn't you think of one of those Blood Elf Healers helping you with those wounds?" She asked as she took Mina's arm under her fingertips and observed it.

Mina just blinked as she let the elf survey her. "Well I wasn't even sure what the differences between your races were besides skin and eye color, so how could you expect me to know enough to do that?" She stated as the tall archer sighed and turned to a tall elf with a human skin tone and straight blond hair that went down his back and over his deep red cloak.

"Healer!" She called with a raised hand. The blood elf turned his golden eyes to them as he held his staff in place in the leaf-covered ground.

"Do you want to guard against our arrows since you're the only one unscathed?" Taki turned as she heard the voice of another slender, purple-cloaked archer with shorter hair than the elf who called the healer over to tend to Mina and Kilik's wounds.

Taki raised her eyebrows and rubbed her mask-covered chin with her fingers in thought and turned to Mina and the busy healer with golden wavy auras emitting from his fingertips and landing on Mina's flesh-wounds. "Sure, I'm sure it'll be fun by the looks of all those cuts you gave Mina and Kilik." Taki added as she nodded and turned to the other archers who immediately smiled and turned to each other at her reply.

"Okay then, stand so that the trees are behind you, that way we won't harm anyone with our arrows." The archer explained as she drew out a purple-feathered arrow as at least three or four others followed suit. Taki did as she was told then bent her knees, focused her senses and slowly pulled out her Rekki-Maru half-way out of its sheath.

She waited and listened as the archers aimed their arrows and stretched their bow strings with their slender fingers. The ninja noticed that she was already starting to gain some Elven onlookers who just watched with somewhat intrigue.

'_T-wang!'_

Taki looked back just in time and not a second later drew her blade and guarded the oncoming long arrows with flash-like movement. She felt the force of the strong arrowheads on her blade and watched as they sprung upwards after they hit and fell to the ground. The elves all looked at her with raised eyebrows as if surprised. They remembered Mina and Kilik at least missing one.

"She's a fast one." One archer whispered to another while her listener nodded slightly.

"Luck, surely." The first archer stated as another group of archers came to test Taki's skill as their new goal. Mina looked from behind the archer, surprised at how focused Taki looked. The second group of archers readied their bows as Taki readied her stance.

'_T-wang!_'

Taki swung her arm around in front of her to guard the next wave of arrows as they flew towards her in purple flashes that stood out from the green and brown backgrounds. She was intrigued by how strong, durable and swift these arrows were made. "Those are some strong bows you have." Taki stated as she eyed the beautifully crafted bows with their glowing blue strings.

"Ready for the next wave of arrows?" The first archer asked as she clasped her next arrow to her bowstring. Taki noticed that there many onlookers now including children that were propped up on their elder's shoulders to get a better look.

Taki smiled. 'Let's give them a show, shall we?' She thought as she turned to the first archer and went into a defensive stance. "Whenever you are." She tightened her thick brown leather arm guards as she spoke.

The third set of archers readied their long bows with some closing one of their eyes to make their aim more accurate. With a _'T-wang!'_ sound that Taki was now becoming used to, she used her arm guards this time and either dodged or blocked them all with such swiftness that it brought the many elven onlookers to stare at her in awe. Even Mina and Kilik looked at her with the same expression as the groups of eager archers came forward with their beloved arrows.

"Wow." Mina whispered to herself as she continued to observe Taki's reflexes. "Either it's just me, or Taki seems to be more… focused when she doesn't have Sophitia on her mind like she used to." She concluded with a raised eyebrow then noticed Kilik sharply turn to her as she mentioned Sophitia having been on Taki's mind.

"When did this happen?" Kilik asked in a forced-out whisper as he leaned toward the Korean girl. Mina looked at him and sighed.

"You mean Taki having been in love with Sophitia?" She whispered back and at Kilik's slight nod she just shrugged. "I don't know; they were in love with each other even before I had met them!" She stated in a whisper as she turned to watch Taki continue. Kilik slowly turned to watch the ninja practice without a very strong hint of tension in her eyes.

"W-well. I h-hope that Taki and Sophitia get together again; wouldn't want to miss it-err I mean, wouldn't want them to become lonely." Kilik stated with quite a bit of difficulty as if slurred with nervousness, which made Mina slowly turned to him with lowered eyebrows even though he didn't look back.

"You're getting dirty thoughts, I know you are!" She whispered quite loudly so that some of the elves who stood near them glanced at her. Kilik closed his eyes tightly before he sharply turned back to her.

"Well the thoughts are _your_ fault; you shouldn't have told me about their… uh… relationship! Now I can't get them out of my head!" Kilik spoke in a whisper as loud as hers was as he rubbed his forehead with his hand as if her thought it would make the ideas in his head go away.

"Well try!" Mina whispered loudly back so that more elves glanced at her. She turned back to observe the Asian woman as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But, anyway. I still think that Taki has become more focused than before, perhaps even a better huntress." She stated informingly as she nodded once for her own emphasis.

"Ha! A better huntress?"

Mina sharply turned as she heard the voice and mocking tone of someone that she feared the most of all the people she'd met on this quest; Maiev. Maiev stood behind her and was walking up to the group of archers that were testing the demon exterminator's skill. She held a slight grin as if amused and a raised eyebrow.

"If she was really good, she could stand up to my sentries." Maiev proposed as if she was implying for Taki to really try to stand up to her own Watchers. She turned to the onlookers and passerby's in the roads of the capital and searched through the people. "The sentries of the Watchers!" She called, making about five beautifully cloaked women who had their dark furred panthers in tow turn to her sharply as if waiting for their command with the obedience they were told to have for their higher-ranked officers.

"Maiev, you're not seriously going to have this human go through the trouble of-" The first archer stopped as Maiev turned to interrupted her.

"The more trouble, the better. Because then she'll be ready for anything in these lands, don't you agree?" Maiev looked at the speechless archer confidently as the elf slowly looked down and stood aside.

"I suppose you're right." She replied in a low voice as she placed the arrow that she was about to use next back in her arrow case on her back.

"But not right now."

Another deep but soft and feminine voice broke through the whispers of the other archers and onlookers as she came close to the massive living tree that looked down at her when she spoke. Tyrande placed her hand gently on the tree, Sophitia stood right behind her with her hands clasped within each other.

"What are you here for?" Maiev asked relentlessly as she shifted her round armor on her shoulders. Tyrande slowly turned to her.

"To ready ourselves for an approaching evil. Sophitia has informed me that the bearer of Soul Edge and ally or Arthas is on his way to this very base, so we must prepare." She informed coolly as the whispering between the onlookers, sentry and archers became louder in alarm at the report.

Taki, Mina and Kilik all immediately turned to Sophitia, who looked as calm as Tyrande was. Although she couldn't keep her eyes off of Taki, which made the ninja's eyes dart away from her own at odd seconds out of nervousness of the Greek's constantly soft gaze.

"Is he?" Maiev raised an eyebrow underneath her helmet then clasped her hands together rather excitedly. "Great, I finally get to meet this Azure Knight and finally get to have my sisters go into battle with him." Maiev sounded as if she was more excited that she actually had something worthwhile to do.

"Right. Well, if you could tell the other Ancients in Ashenvale and warn the Blood Elf leaders to be prepared and train more warriors?" Tyrande asked Maiev calmly as she looked up the Ancient of War as if telling it to do what she just required from it. The rugged wooden head of the tree slowly nodded, bending some branches in the process and began to slowly move its 'arms' repeatedly as if it was chanting.

Maiev seemed to sigh. "Sure… fine, the more defense the better." She turned on her heel and weaved her way through the groups of archers before she broke into a run towards her destinations.

Sophitia turned to Tyrande. "What shall I, Taki, Mina and Kilik do to help?" She asked in a low voice. Tyrande just kept her moonlit eyes upon her for a few seconds in thought.

"Well, I already sent Jaina to report to the Orcs and she's fine in completing that alone." Tyrande thought aloud as she placed her fingers on her chin in thought. "I think that all I can ask of you is to be prepared since you know more about this knight then any of our races do. I would only need you four to lead and command us what to do to better defend you since you will need to help Jaina in stealing and purifying his soul." She explained softly as Sophitia nodded slowly.

"I understand. We'll be ready." She confirmed as she turned to her friends, who all nodded in agreement.

"Great, we're going to be in front of the groups of races." Kilik restated again with a troubled sigh.

"I know, but there's no use in complaining." Mina stated with her own sigh as she started preparing herself by stretching her muscles.

"I agree." Kilik rolled his neck until his eyes landed on Taki who was searching around her body suit for something. "What are you looking for, Taki?" He asked out of curiosity.

"I can't find my blade-polishing rag. Have you seen it? I've lost it for days." She exclaimed although in her search she didn't hear Sophitia gasp slightly. Sophitia really had no intentions of giving Taki's rag back because it was the only part of Taki that she could actually hold.

"Priestess!" An elven runner brought Taki's attention away from her rag and onto the urgent voice of the elf. "There's been a sighting of some sort of black demon in coming from the cloud-covered skies. The Blood elves and Orcs both saw it at their observatories. The demon is said to be carried by what looked like a pale spirit of some sort and the demon is wielding a blade as tall as his own self!" The runner reported in alarm.

"That's Nightmare!" Mina shouted although she had no idea how a ghost was able to carry a living armor-wearing knight. Tyrande's calm expression turned into one of alarm as she sharply turned to Mina. Her eyes darted as she turned back to the runner with a very serious expression.

"Runner, I've sent the warden Maiev to tell the Ancient's to produce more warrior and to warn the blood elves. Now I need you to do the same. How far is the demon from here?" Tyrande asked as she leaned forward to better hear her scout.

"The blood elves at the observatories guessed perhaps ten kilometers coming from the North." The runner explained, sounding confident that her information was correct.

"Ten kilometers, that isn't too far from here." Tyrande stated mostly to herself as she tried to think of how far that really was. She sharply turned back to the runner who stood and waited diligently for her command. "Runner, hurry and sound the horn for our sisters to gather in the fortified square of Ashenvale. Then go and tell the Ancients that I command them to begin training more warriors." The runner nodded at her priestess' command and hastily ran in a different direction than Maiev headed, her yellow cloak (most likely colored that way because she was of a different class then the other elves) matching her swiftness as she sped through the capital.

Tyrande turned to the already-trained archers and pointed towards the fortified center of the capital. "Go sisters, meet in the capital and we will wait for the assault there!" She commanded broadly and the warriors, archer, druid, and dryad nodded obediently as they made their way through the crowd of peasants and commoners.

"I'll see if I can spot them from that ziggurat."

Tyrande didn't have time to turn as a red and black flash body went passed her and ran up to the tallest ziggurat which was the same ziggurat that held her quarters. She raised an eyebrow as she watched the Asian jump from one level to the next until she landed on the very top and kneeled down of the platform to better balance herself against the winds that came over the trees. She could just be seen with the remaining twilight skies outlining her form.

"How quick and swift she is." Tyrande noted mostly to herself in intrigue. 'I wonder if she can match our speed when prowling through the woods.' She thought to herself with a raised eyebrow at the thought.

"She's done that many times before." Sophitia added openly as she gazed at the focused woman on top of the ziggurat, admiring her for not having fear and hoping that she would find a way to strike a nerve in Taki's memory. She would find a way, she knew it, and she wasn't going to give up hope.

8

"Banshee! How far are we from the destination?" Nightmare demanded over the sounds of the roaring winds going through his armor and helmet. They soared over the thousands of thick trees, waterfalls, lakes and wildlife of the forest bordering Ashenvale with the dark clouds just passing overhead and little droplets of rain could be felt.

"Not much further my lord." Sharlindra cringed as she called Nightmare her 'lord'; she didn't like the idea of feeling unfaithful to her beloved queen. "Perhaps seven kilometers." She added as she gripped his armor a little tighter. 'I can only hope that they're ready, if they aren't then my queen and I will be discovered if they should fall.

"Perfect; my thirst is beginning to drive me mad, especially when I know that the first soul that I'm going to consume is that annoying Greek woman with impeccable timing when it comes to my own love of destruction. She likes to destroy my own fun." Nightmare explained mostly to himself in anger like a little spoiled boy.

"Patience my lord; you're time for consumption will come." Sharlindra spoke with a smirk this time, thinking of what this knight's demise would bring for her queen as well as Arthas.

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Sorry this one took so along although this one took less time than the last one did. I know the who banshee flying a knight over the lands and waters to Ashenvale is very out-there but it was the only fast way that I could get Nightmare over there besides teleporting.

There next one will be interesting seeing as to how there will be another well-known Warcraft leader making an appearance and there will be a Maiev vs. Taki demon exterminator fight, and there will be a hidden ending: will Nightmare succeed or will Jaina, Sophitia, Sylvanas and the others succeed in purifying Siegfried's soul?

I had to wait until now to pin the two chapters up because I'm going out-of-country for a week and I wanted to wait until the last minute and not leave you hanging. It may take me a while like two weeks or more to submit the next chapter to this one, but perhaps not the next chapter to 'My Way'. The next one will be a little funny as well and Sophitia will try her _hints_ in the next one.


	11. The Fairness of the Clash of War

Do not own SC characters.

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Chapter 11: The Fairness of the Clash of War

"Banshee! Lower me into the woods; you say that we are about three kilometers from the site, so I shouldn't want them to spot me before I even commence my next massacre." Nightmare stated as they flew over the full and dark green trees.

"Certainly, my lord." The banshee was quite glad to finally let go of him as she dissented them to the now lush grounds. "Just what do you plan to do, milord?" Sharlindra tried to hold her grin in as she knew that Nightmare's information would indeed be useful and since she had the valuable ability of disappearing before anyone's eyes at any second that she wished.

Nightmare paused as he thought up his plan as he let his demonic claws run along his parched blade…

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"Do you see him?"

Taki jumped as Jaina suddenly appeared upon the top platform of the ziggurat. Jaina's eyes were sharp and focused as her gaze swept across the skies now blanketed with dark clouds as she and Taki searched for the dark figure being carried by a ghostly being.

"Unfortunately, no. I thought I saw him in the clouds, but they are becoming too thick for me to really see him. Perhaps a storm is coming." Taki stated as her eyes grazed the skyline. She could feel the oncoming moisture from the storm from where she stood. She glanced downward to see the warriors of the different races forming around the capital, surrounding all sides.

"Here, take this. Surely with your speed you can reach him faster than I." Jaina gave her the deerskin pouch that held the soul-stealing gemstone. "I will need to cast a circle so I wouldn't have time to do it myself. Just somehow place it in his hand and say "In the name of the Light I capture this corrupt soul"." She informed as she handed it to Taki, who was a little reluctant to take it since she was afraid that it would somehow give her another vision. Taki hooked the pouch onto her own red belt.

Sophitia waited by the center of the capital, surrounded by archers, magicians and spearmen. Her eyes were closed as if to block out the constant blather around her although her face and muscles were relaxed as she kept her gleaming sword and shield at her sides.

"Are you trying to sense the demon knight or are you thinking of your lost love?" Tyrande asked as she came up to her while riding Starstrider, who seemed to have forgotten the last incident.

"I'm trying to see if I can feel his aura, Gods know I've felt it at its strongest before." Sophitia stated in a deep tone with her eyes remaining closed. "I didn't loose her by the way." She added in a more serious tone, making Tyrande raise an eyebrow out of intrigue. "She's still with me, her heart still beats and she is well in health, I'm happy enough for that for the time being until I can touch her heart again." She stated broadly yet in a soft tone as she kept her eyes closed.

Tyrande smiled at her and marveled at the confidence this woman had and still she was so young. "I'm pleased to see that you think that way. I have to say something like that to myself many a time whenever my love leaves to cleanse the forests." She openly noted as she directed Starstrider to turn and continue on their patrol. She turned back to the calm and patient warrior with a reassuring smile. "The person Taki once was will return with time, don't let doubt consume you." With that confidently spoken advice, she left to let Sophitia go back into her concentration.

Sophitia opened her eyes slowly and looked at the ground that she faced. "I'll never let it consume me; I love her too much to give up so easily." She spoke in a soft and hardly audible tone as a faint smile formed upon her lips.

'_Sophitia? Can you hear me?'_

Sophitia's eyes shot up and darted around her surroundings as she heard an echo-like voice in her head. "What? Who are you?" She asked her surroundings as she continued to look for the source of the voice.

'_Stop being so shifty! It's Sylvanas. If you haven't already guessed, I speaking to you telepathically, another trick my banshees use to scare or having fun with their living prey.'_

"I see." Sophitia raised an eyebrow. 'Well this is new, I feel as if I'm being manipulated in a way.' She thought as she stopped searching with panic but still had her eyes graze the trees around her for any sign of glowing red eyes.

'_I'm not manipulating you, I'm telling you some recent information my banshee gave to me.'_

'She can read my thoughts as well?' Sophitia pulled back at the idea.

'_Only when I'm doing what I'm doing now.'_ Sylvanas answered simply before she continued. _'Anyway, I have my weapons, although it wasn't easy but I was fortunate enough to slip in and steal them from Maiev's chambers when all the warriors were grouping around this capital.' _Sylvanas explained in an annoyed tone.

'What about the information concerning Nightmare?' Sophitia asked in an anxious tone within her head; she thought it would be better to speak to the undead woman this way. After all, it was a little embarrassing for people to think that you're insane and talking to yourself. 'How far is he from here?'

'_From what I was told, he should be about two kilometers away from you by now, so warn the other warriors to keep their guard. Listen well for the sounds of death and his armored footsteps as well as trying to sense his aura, although I don't know if you're any good at that but someone who seems so dedicated to the good should be able to sense his demeanor easily.' _Sylvanas sounded as if she was speaking to herself, which made Sophitia want to smirk if she hadn't been so preoccupied for searching out Nightmare.

'Where are you now?' Sophitia asked as she lifted two fingers to touch her temple as if she thought it would help in hearing Sylvanas speak in her mind.

Sylvanas seemed to chuckle in her head. _'I can't tell you; if you lay eyes on me and one or more of the leaders see your change in expression, which I know will easily happen, they would surely look in my direction and my cover from the living would be shattered.'_ She explained in an informative tone as if she was explaining a battle strategy.

Sophitia raised an eyebrow in intrigue. 'I should have thought of that.' She thought as if she was making a mental note in being cleverer with things such as that.

'_Yes, you should have.' _Sylvanas stated skeptically, making Sophitia's eyebrows furrow slightly in response. _'I will be waiting in the trees and will not leave even when the battle starts. To let you know, this will be the last time that I will be speaking within your mind, so if you have any other questions, speak now.'_ The hidden archer informed with a tone as if she was barely patient enough to wait for Sophitia to think up a question.

Sophitia resumed her stance for sensing Nightmare's proximity. 'No; I know what I have to do to at least hold Nightmare back.' She could tell when Sylvanas had exited her mind when she was given a reply of absolute silence. 'The sounds of death.' The Greek recalled in a distant tone.

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After what seemed like hours due to anticipation of the coming battle; Sophitia felt a familiar chill course through her at one side. 'He's nearby.' She thought in a low tone as her gaze swept suspiciously around the surrounding lands. Her conclusion came seconds before a long, horrible and painful-sounding grunt from a male throat was heard from a far end of the capital.

"Lord Kael'Thas! A healer has been slain!"

Kael'Thas ran through the crowds the sound of his brother blood elf's call while pushing passed all those who were didn't move out of the way fast enough or didn't move at all. When he came to observe the corpse his ruby eyes widened as the healer with blood stained robes had a huge eye-shaped hole in his torso that ran all the way through his flesh. The Blood Mage ran a hand through his golden locks in a nervous fashion, ignoring the many sorceresses who spoke among themselves about what may happen next. 'Who could have killed him so horribly and yet have nobody see him?' He wondered worriedly as he kept his sunlit pupils on the healer's corpse.

Attention quickly turned as a female warrior at the edge of the forest nearby let out a cry of pain that was soon followed by another that sounded as if she was being tortured. As most chose to gather around the source of the screams, Kael'Thas only turned in their direction but didn't move so that he could keep an eye on his side of the forest even though it was difficult through the darkness of the night that slowly enveloped the horizon.

Two Night Elven warriors—an archer and a dryad—lay motionless upon the leaf-covered grass in front of the edge of the forest's trees. Much to the observers' horror, the dryad's body was in halves on the ground as it was sliced through at the abdomen while the archer lay on her back with a long, jagged and dangerously deep wound that ran from the lower right of her gut to her left shoulder. To Tyrande's surprise, relief and much worry, the archer was still gasping for her last breaths although she still held a horror-stricken expression on her face as if she could still see her attacker in front of her.

Tyrande got off of Starstrider, ran to the fallen elf whose life was hanging on by a thread and cradled her gently into her arms so to not cause pain as she tilted the archer's head so that their moonlit eyes could meet. She noticed that the girl's hair that, much like the other Night elves, normally held star-like sparkles when the moonlight shined upon it was slowly fading as fast as her life was.

"Ease yourself my sister. What happened? Who did this to you?" She asked in a soft and soothing tone as not to rush the profusely-bleeding archer.

The unevenly gasping warrior seemed to have difficulty speaking as her life was slipping away. "P-priestess…" She started in an uncontrollable and parched throat. "Ge-get away from th-the trees." Her voice slowly became lower. Tyrande pulled back at the archer's request; how could their beloved trees be harmful? "He… He's w-waiting for you… in-n the shado-."

Before the archer could even finish, Tyrande had already heard a _'clank…clank' _of heavy armor that became louder and louder from behind her. After she slowly lowered the archer that was now in the hands of death, she chose not to turn and face the possible 'Nightmare', fearing that she might provoke him. "You are the Azure Knight? The 'Nightmare'?" She asked in a calm tone. She heard a deep and evil-sounding chuckle.

"Heh heh, glad to see I'm so famous in these worlds."

At the feel of a sudden rush of wind from behind, Tyrande jumped towards her fellow Night elves and narrowly missed a swing from Nightmare's massive and living blade that he now laid upon his shoulder as if he hand no fear out of them.

"I came for the blood of a sentinel. Bring her to me! Bring me Sophitia!" He demanded loudly, his bloodlust slowly increasing with every word. He had be firm now; after all he didn't trust a soul now because he was left to the shadows of the trees by the banshee. 'Better that she's gone now I'm sure; she would've become a nuisance if she had stayed.' He thought logically to himself as he stared the elf down.

Tyrande just shifted the weight on her legs and crossed her arms over her chest as her eyes observed his armor, sword and demonic arm. The warriors didn't move; they wouldn't until Tyrande gave them the order to do so. "You wish to take her life? Well, you will have to go through a few _obstacles_ to get to her." Tyrande seemed to grin confidently before it suddenly went serious. "Release your arrows, sisters!" None hesitated as they let their purple feathered arrows reign upon him. By the orders of their chieftain, the troll spearmen tossed their spears high into the sky before it dropped upon Nightmare's path.

Nightmare growled in annoyed rage as he threw himself forward and swung his thick blade into every warrior it could reach, which unfortunately was many as Sophitia and Tyrande's eyes went wide in horror as to how many warriors he could slice through in mere seconds. The spears and arrows only seemed to make mere scratches upon his armor as it was protected by Soul Edge itself. Blood elf spellcasters used 'throwback' spells against Nightmare, but to Nightmare, it only felt like a semi-harsh push backwards.

Jaina had already left to begin casting her 'circle' in the center of the capital since it would be most doubtful for him to reach the center so quickly even if he was well skilled at his gigantic blade. Taki watched the battle from the high platform with anger and soon leapt from it, landed on a level halfway down and finally landed upon the ground paying no hesitancy as she ran through to confront Nightmare.

Until she came, annoyed Kael'thas and Thrall threw their best attacks upon him; Kael'thas conjured a magic circle around Nightmare that soon erupted into a pillar of flames while Thrall used his 'Lightning Chain', summoning lightning from his mighty mallet to strike upon the possessed knight. Thrall's attack was more effective against the knight as the Kael'thas' fire burned his skin but soon healed due to Soul Edge's demonic influence.

In blind rage, Nightmare repaid their insolence by ramming his sword into all the blood elves and orcs that would cross his path. At least one warrior/beast whatever race they may be would fall to the ground after being either maimed or murdered by the lava-eyed knight that slowly had a wicked and menacing grin spread across his face as he drank in the souls that flooded within.

"Time to stop you NOW!"

Nightmare turned only to be kicked in the side of the face twice by the balls of Taki's hard heels. He staggered backwards but soon regained his balance of course only to lose it as he felt a powerful force slam against his back so hard that it made his back shake briefly. He looked behind him to see his original prey standing broadly with her shield raised and eyes narrowed vengefully at him before she ran up and harshly swung her shield that was trembling with power by her own will against his stomach in a upper-cut and creating a loud 'boom!', sending him high into the air but before he crashed to the ground, by Sophitia's will and faith she made her sword glow a brilliant white before she struck him harshly at his side. He could only smirk against the pain as he stood himself up from the ground that he rolled across after Sophitia's strike.

"My, my. Haven't you grown to be a spitfire? Donating your soul already?" He chuckled menacingly before he saw Mina running at him head-on with the butt of her Zanbatou aimed toward his stomach. He growled annoyingly at the pest and let her come but dodged her thrust by moving to one side and grabbed the collar of her amber skirt and raised her off the ground as he sneered at her struggling form. "Relax now and give me your blood as you deserve." He demanded in a rather mocking voice as pulled out his dagger that he kept hooked on his belt on his back and was more than thrilled as he thrust it towards her stomach.

"Don't mind me!" A hyppogryph rider shouted sharply from his right side and dove down along with her huge bird and opened out an arm and she swooped Mina in and raised them back into the air.

"I don't deserve this either!" Mina stated with panic as she looked down and held tightly onto the elven rider as they soared through the air.

"Getting yourself into more trouble are you?" The rider grinned widely as she turned her eye that wasn't covered by her long bangs towards Mina as she pulled her up onto the hyppogryph. "Hey, try not to ruffle the feathers like you did last time." She smirked then suddenly shrieked with pain as she grabbed her right elbow joint as Nightmare's dagger was lodged through it. She sharply turned to his laughing form and glared at him vengefully as she felt Mina pull the dagger out slowly, making her cringe in pain.

"Ha! How disappointing for you that I my aim is more valuable than your flying skills!" He mocked as Maiev ran up and jumped high above him and rage fully slammed her circular, bladed weapon hard upon his head, making a loud 'cong!' rumble within his helmet as he grabbed both sides to make it stop.

"_Starfall!_" Tyrande summoned what looked like a reign of white and blue rocks as if they were stars upon the unknowing knight. He grunted and growled loudly against the pain that brought him to the ground over and over again as the 'stars' strummed against his armored back. Once it was done, Tyrande could see the fiery anger in his eyes before he jumped and pushed her off of Starstrider and pinned her against the ground.

"That's IT stubborn elven WENCH! You're soul is as good as MINE!" Nightmare proclaimed angrily as he held the priestess down and stole her dagger that she kept at the hip of her belt and raised it high above her heart.

"Demon! In the skies!"

An Orc informed before Nightmare brought it down. To his own curiosity he looked up when a dark figure land next to him in the corner of is eye, only to be kicked with such power that it surely dented his chest plate at its side and was sent off of Tyrande and against a nearby tree, creating another dent but not as deep as the first. Nightmare shakily looked up only to be gripped by the neck of his chest plate by the horned, black demon with solid red eyes that had a glow that dripped upwards along his brows. Its stone-hard face scowled at him before he harshly tossed him into the air, causing him to soar into a wall of a ziggurat, creating a wide crack within its side.

The tall and brute, winged demon laughed heartily at the condition Nightmare was in, although it seemed to contain two voices that sounded quite demonic with their deep tones. _"Seems that your human host isn't that durable." _It mocked with a smirk as it waited for the knight to stand on his feet.

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?" Nightmare boomed as slowly staggered up to stand on his hands and knees as he cursed the intruding demon. "I can't help it if the boy's absolutely useless!"

"That's not true! Siegfried was twice the warrior you'll ever find even without your possessing him!" Sophitia suddenly retorted, making all warrior's turn to her in surprise.

Nightmare seemed to pause as he looked at the Greek blonde. "Heh, stupid little girl. You'll pay dearly for your comment!" He threatened as he continued to get himself upon his feet.

"Do you think your sins have been redeemed demon?" Maiev suddenly shot at the dark demon as she ran up and horizontally swung her circular weapon against its chest, making it grunt at the burning sensation of skin being torn open but however slowly closing as a dark mist wrapped over the wound. Maiev's eyes widened as she saw Taki come up and ram both her now-fiery blades into its back and ripped them all the way down its back, making it howl with pain. "What do you think you're doing? This demon's mine to slay! Go find a demon from your own world!" Maiev shot at her as if Taki's sudden action was an offensive one on Maiev's account.

Nightmare meanwhile could be heard as he gasped for breath as he got to his feet. He suddenly lashed his claws against his dented chest plate, ripping apart the brown leather bindings at the sides and letting in a huge gasp of air as he took it off, revealing his muscled chest that was half normal, half demonically deformed like his right arm and covered with flesh. Apparently the dents in his chest plate were so deep that he couldn't breathe. His gaze dropped to Sophitia and looked at her with fierce eyes filled with insane rage. 'Bitch of a woman is more trouble than she's worth!' He complained in his head.

Taki was about to retort Maiev's 'suggestion' when both huntresses were thrown back by the demon's muscled arms and wide wings. Maiev landed and rolled against the ground while Taki hit a nearby tree at her side, making her yell out in pain as a loud 'crack' was heard before she fell and grunted in her throat as she hit the ground.

Sophitia's worried eyes were immediately upon Taki's staggering form that slowly rose to her feet as she cringed slightly and bent over slightly to recover from the pain. She turned and scowled at the winged demon, who glared angrily at the two evil purges.

"_Nice try, stubborn and conceited Warden, but even thinking that you could defeat me is a waste of your self-absorbed thought, not while I'm in this form." _It stated in a harsh tone which made its dark voice even more threatening. The heavily-armored elf rose herself to her feet as she staggered slightly due to the weight of her upper armor. Her glowing green pupils stared daggers into its red and yellow misty-like glowing eyes as they pierced through the darkness of the night.

It suddenly shot its attention to Nightmare, who kept his burning eyes upon Sophitia. The Azure Knight seemed to ignore the spears, arrows, thrown axes and glaives as they merely scratched his exposed flesh that was as tough as leather thanks to the human flesh of others that he had gained long ago upon himself and continues to do so. _"Here this, filthy supporter of Arthas…!"_ The dark demon called as he pointed his clawed finger at Nightmare, whose narrowed eyes snap to its own. _"Do what you wish to the races; dark magics know I don't give a damn about them. But keep your blood-ridden claws off of Priestess Tyrande."_ It threatened harshly before he turned open his wings and leap into the skies, knowing that it was gaining a lot of unwanted attention from even warriors far off. Tree roots suddenly shot from the ground and entangled the demon's limbs, pulling him down at the silent command of Tyrande.

By now everyone, surely apart from the Night elves since this seems to have to do with them, were beyond bewildered by this intrusion and interaction of the flying demon that was now yanking itself against the roots that were tightly coiled around his limbs. Sophitia's eyes were now more focused on finding Taki and her condition, only to see the very woman run towards her at full speed.

"Look out!" Taki pushed her towards the ground, making her see the hawk-like eye of Soul Edge pass over the both of them as they landed on the ground followed by their tumble after they had fallen on it. They both heard Nightmare roar loudly with rage and frustration after Taki made him miss. He glared menacingly at the two still on top of each other and Taki seemed to be cringing as she held her side where she had hit the tree some minutes ago. He grinned widely as he noted that he could kill two birds with one stone with this, or in his case, two annoying, self-righteous warriors with one swing. The knight merely took a step forward before Kilik and Mina, who had landed minutes ago to let the rider who she had known to treat her wounds, suddenly jumped at him swung their rods at him every which way. He growled as he concluded that it would be more of an advantage to do away with the pests before he carried on without any more intrusions.

Since Nightmare was busy, although Sophitia hated taking advantage of her friends' lives, she took the time to check on Taki's condition since she appeared to be in pain and had trouble getting to her feet. "Taki, thank you for saving me from his sword, but don't push yourself so hard; I think you have a broken rib, please don't overdo it." She pleaded in a soft, sincere tone.

Taki's eyes suddenly snapped fiercely to hers as she leaned on her arms slightly and raised herself above the concerned blonde who suddenly pulled back in surprise. "What did you think you were doing? You should just stand around like that; your eyes should be on Nightmare! He wants to kill you remember?" The huntress scolded the girl below her harshly.

Sophitia's eyes flooded with surprise at Taki's words; she had never spoken to her in that kind of tone before. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she began to speak in her own defense. "I know quite well that he's after my soul, but… I was just so worried… especially when you become impulsive… about you when that demon-"

Taki's eyes snapped tightly shut as she shook her head slightly as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "My health isn't what you should be concerned about; you should be concerned of your own!" She stated with an almost angered look in her usually soft, deep brown eyes. "Why do you choose to care for me so? What business do you think you've ever had with me?" She asked in a tone as if she knew that they had absolutely no relations before even though Sophitia only wished that she could tell her but remained speechless. "You follow me around like a lost puppy begging for attention. Are you just picking me as just something to cling to and nothing more as you think you're here all alone?" She asking in a testy voice and narrowed eyes as she waited for the girl's answer as she strived against the pain to hear it.

Of course, the more Taki said, the more Sophitia felt her heart turn inside-out. "H-How…?" In complete surprise and shock, she had trouble getting words out of her mouth. "How could you think such a cynical thing? That I'd be so cold as to do that? Were you always this way before you met me; so willing to drive others away and not wanting anyone near you?" As she was actually just wondering out loud while still shocked but quickly covered her mouth with her palm as she realized that her words accidentally slipped out.

Taki's eyes slowly went wide and hurt-ridden as she listened and turned away as she snapped her eyes shut when she finished as if to wipe the 'comment' away. Sophitia's eyes widened at the expression on Taki's face and was about to reach a hand up to the hurt woman's cheek and correct her horrible mistake when they were interrupted by a '_Th-wong!_' sound next to them.

Both turned to find a black feathered arrow with blood red tips planted diagonally into the ground and dangerously close to Sophitia's neck. The reminder of its purpose brought the several 'Clang!' sounds of engaging weapons, 'T-wang!'s of released bow strings and grunts of pain and anguish from the now-heaving Kilik and Nightmare while Mind seemed to now lay unconscious on the ground nearby.

The darkness of the night was disrupted as a blue beam of light appeared before them then slowly faded as Jaina emerged from it. At the sound of a hard 'clang!' from behind her, she turned only to have her eyes widen as they laid upon the savagely fighting knight whom she didn't even need to assume was Nightmare. He was currently trying to rip through the fast-parrying Kilik as well as any warrior of a different race who dared think that he or she could face him head-on. She quickly turned to the two still on the ground. "There's no need to stall for time now; the magic circle is complete and is being protected and powered by my staff." The cloaked woman who now held nothing within her hands informed broadly.

"It's about time!" Taki groaned as she held her throbbing side and cringed briefly. Jaina's eyes furrowed as she noticed this.

"What happened to you?" She asked the Asian in curiosity. She didn't seem to notice the many arrows that were the same as the one that nearly hit Sophitia's neck as they reigned over and passed herself and onto Nightmare, strangely catching on fire as they lodged into his flesh, making him howl with pain as he tried to rip them out of his flesh.

As Sophitia sat herself back up, she gently rolled the huntress onto her back as the older woman held her bruised side. "She was thrown against a tree." The aventurine-eyed blonde informed as her gaze dropped to Taki's pain-ridden ribs.

"I can give you something that can help with that, but it'll have to wait until we get this settled. So Taki, if you could please give Sophitia the gem so that she can do it for you?" Jaina suggested as she turned to gaze at Nightmare's rage full form. "Even though I don't have my staff, surely there are some hand-spells that could restrain him until you're ready, Sophitia." The sorceress explained positively before she ran to help Kilik, who was becoming slower due to exhaustion even though the Blood Elf sorceress, Tasia helped him in the meantime by casting what was called 'Slow' upon Nightmare. The name of the spell certainly spoke for itself as the knight would suddenly move in slow-motion when the golden ball of light hit and surrounded him until the golden mist faded.

Taki cringed for a longer period that usual as she pushed her torso upwards to unhook the deerskin pouch that she placed on her belt at her backside. Sophitia shifted so that she leaned on her knees and glanced on and off of the older woman nervously due to the little disagreement that they had seconds ago. Taki went to open the pouch's leather twine.

"Here, just jam it in his clawed hand and say the words "In the name of the Light, I capture this corrupt soul", understan-_gasp!_" Taki suddenly stopped as she seemed to be frozen. Sophitia sharply leaned forward as worry flooded her eyes when she noticed that Taki's eyes were very dilated as they stared into hers motionless. Sophitia saw nothing wrong with her; the only thing Taki was doing was holding the gem between her fingers.

"Sophitia! Quickly! He's a little harder to control than I would've liked!" Jaina called as she hand deep blue orbs in the palms of her hands and seemed to be having control over Nightmare's fists even though he was thrashing his arms against her magic, he had dropped his monstrous blade so that it was merely a few feet away, but much to his aggravation, Jaina's magic wouldn't allow him to reach it. Kilik was over at Mina's side, shaking her slightly and calling her name in a low tone, eventually her eyes wavered open as she ground and seemed to rub the side of her face in pain with her eyes tightly shut as she did so.

"Ah-I'm coming!" Sophitia fumbled as she looked at both the gem then back towards Taki's glazed expression. She quickly took the gem from Taki's hand as she still seemed in a daze as she ran the back of her hand down Taki's cheek as she was nowhere near reality to feel it. "I'll be quick." She assured in a low tone before she ran towards Nightmare with haste.

Nightmare meanwhile was continuing to thrash against Jaina's invisible bindings. Jaina growled and grunted against the strength of his thrashing while maintaining her own strength. Nightmare grinned evilly beneath his helmet as he had an idea thanks to Tyrande's dagger that he held all through the winged demon's brute strength. He could only swing his arms once every few seconds. Knowing this, he grasped the beautifully crafted dagger firmly within his human hand and used his one chance by horizontally slicing into the exposed flesh of her abdomen. She shrieked in pain as she reflexively pulled back, hunched over and wrapped her arms around her bleeding stomach. Nightmare chuckled gleefully at his own wits as he was now free from his bindings and came toward the cringing sorceress, grabbed her head with his clawed hand and brought the dagger to the side of her neck.

"Wasn't it _me_ that you were hoping to kill?"

Nightmare smirked as he knew the girl who contained that voice as well as the soul he desperately wanted to taste. He turned only to be kicked square in his exposed chest, howling painfully as he felt the woman's metal heel of her long brown boots dig into his chest as he fell to the ground by loss-of-balance.

Sophitia sneered as she looked down at the lava-colored eyes that bore into her own as he heaved through her weight as she was standing slightly on him. She shot out her leg and leaned it again his human hand as she bent down to grasp his demonic hand. The arrows, axes, magic 'throwbacks' and spears slowly dissented in numbers as this interaction that was going in the right direction continued.

"I won't be yours so easily." He proclaimed yet he didn't move as he sneered at the Greek.

"Oh really? Well, let's just see who's really stronger; you or Siegfried." She slowly leaned forward just enough so that she could even see his dark red hair lay over his face slightly beneath his helmet. "Also, I don't need a second chance to think; your German host, with some small help from me will _force_ you out!" She proclaimed proudly as she opened Nightmare's clawed hand with all her strength and placed it within it and held it there with her right hand while her left kept his demonic arm from twitching and moving. "In the name of the Light, I CAPTURE THIS CORRUPT SOUL!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as if her normal tone wouldn't be enough in capturing the Azure Knight as the now red-white gem slowly became increasingly bright through his clawed hand. It eventually became so bright that it could've been used effectively as the light for a lighthouse. Sophitia let go and backed off of him when she felt an odd phenomena occurring. She could tell the others felt the same way as they began to observe in awe.

Nightmare growled and grunted as he tried to drop the gem from his hand, but it was stuck it place; it wouldn't budge. He suddenly felt strange; he felt weightless and yet couldn't move. To his horror, he watched as the claws of his hands began to look like grains of sand and spiraled around the gem as they became absorbed by it. His roar and struggling increased with each passing second as he felt the rest of his body soon follow and as the last of his dust-like form was swallowed by the brightly glowing gem with a mere echo of his booming voice that was replaced by the rustle of leaves caused by the nightly breeze. The arrows that were still embedded within this thick skin fell to the ground with a soft 'tick'-like sound of wood falling upon the wood of tree roots.

Sophitia and the other nearby warriors that could see watched as if in slow motion as the gem hung in the air then dropped into the grass with a 'bump-rustle' as it rolled on the ground briefly. It soon set itself still in the dirt yet had a dim glow emitting from it as though it was still active.

Sophitia's jumped as she heard Taki gasp loudly and slowly began to move. The Greek ran to Taki's side, lifting her head onto her lap as she noticed that the Asian's eyes still didn't seem focused. When Taki's landed upon the concerned green ones above her, she gasped again as she pulled herself back against the blonde's thighs as if startled by Sophitia's presence. After realizing who the person above her really was, she soon settled her rapidly beating heart and her body relaxed back down to the ground as she let out a breath.

"Taki, what happened to you?" She asked in a low tone as if she didn't want anyone else to crowd around them in their own curiosity.

Taki merely shook her head as she held back her cringe as the pain in her side came pack. "Nothing… nothing happened." Taki answered in a distant tone that Sophitia didn't need to hear to know that she was holding her real answer back.

Sophitia sighed as she closed her eyes as if slightly disappointed in Taki's stubbornness before she turned towards the glowing crystal that was now in Jaina's hands as she observed it; it now had a black, red-orange, and much to her intrigue, white to gold-colored cloud-like smoke circling within its center. "Where's Siegfried?" Sophitia asked as she noticed that the German was nowhere in sight and yet she thought that the purpose of the gem was to extract the demons from him. She also noticed that there was a blood-stained blue sash tied around her abdomen.

"Siegfried himself will be extracted from the jewel in the magic circle. I have no idea what condition he'll be in though since he was possessed by such a manipulative demon." Jaina noted as she took the gem towards the center of the capital, trying not to look at the dozens of dead corpses, Orc, Night and Blood elven alike with limbs cut off and huge gouges in their bodies caused by Soul Edge. The pools of blood that overtook the scattered puddles of water were enough to make any warrior turn away at the sight. As if it could help, the rain began to sprinkle then pour from the steel clouds that passed overhead. Sophitia looked up, letting the droplets crash upon her face then back down to Taki, who still seemed a little dazed but not nearly as deeply as before.

"You can go." Taki suddenly spoke up, turning her gaze to the side towards the thick grass then over to the groups of warriors mixed within each other's races as they either gathered their next orders from their leaders, walked aimlessly through the damp fields of grass and observed the dead, or just stood or sat in the rain and let the water refresh their minds and bodies.

Sophitia sharply turned to her. "What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow at the woman who chose not to look at her.

"You can go see if Siegfried will successfully make it through. You believed so much in him so it's only fair that you do so. You can just leave me here and give me whatever Jaina was going to give me whenever you get it and are able to come back to me." Taki spoke in a careless voice that made Sophitia look down at her with seriousness in her eyes, which soon went to a raised eyebrow.

"I think I have a better idea." The younger girl stated as she turned to Tyrande who stood a fair distance away and seemed as though she was lost within her own thoughts as she held Starstrider by her reigns. Then another thought hit her before she could say anything. 'What every happened to that demon?' She thought as she looked around to find it nowhere in sight then turned to notice Tyrande's form that seemed rather fragile at this point. Sophitia blinked. 'Maybe I shouldn't ask about it just yet.' She concluded in a thoughtful tone in her head.

"You two okay?" Sophitia and Taki turned their heads to their side to find Naisha on her coal-black panther as she looked down at the both of them with her head cocked to one side, making the streams of water drip from the top of her small, vine-like detailed helmet to one of its two parted edges at the bottom. Her plum dress robes were damp and slightly blood stained in some areas however her ice blue moonlit eyes and long turquoise hair with leaves and star-like sparkles within it stood out more than her stained appearance.

"Yes, we're fine, Taki may have a broken rib, but we need Jaina to give her a healing potion or something or other." The now damp blonde noticed that Naisha had a type of brace on her right arm around the elbow. "Hurt in battle?" She asked as she nodded towards the white brace.

Naisha looked down at it for a second then back up as she smiled slightly. "Oh yeah, heh, basically. Moon Well water won't help the joint heal as fast as it would on flesh wounds, so my glaive-throwing days are cut just a little short." Naisha's attention turned to Taki's body that hardly moved but had her eyes open and Naisha could tell, even when the Asian was facing away from her that she was miserable and in pain. She turned back to Sophitia and sighed before she got off of her trained battle-cat. "I trust walking will be difficult for you Taki, so you can ride my panther into the center square to where Jaina is. In fact, you can use him for the rest of the night if you wish; I won't need him tonight." The sentry stated as she pet her panther on the shoulder bone.

Sophitia smiled gratefully; she was originally going to ask Tyrande to lend Starstrider to them, but since Naisha was so willing already, the Greek couldn't help but not pass up the chance. "Oh, thank you so much, we'd really appreciate it." She stated as she helped Taki off of the ground and into the seat of a dark blue wool blanket upon the panther's back. "I'll make sure not to loose him." She assured as she took the leather reigns.

Naisha chuckled slightly. "Yes, see that you don't." She smirked as if she really didn't care what they'd do with her just so long as her battle-cat came back alive. The elf came over to Sophitia and leaned close to her ear. "There's a piece of land south of here, there's quite a bit of debris there; ruins of old Elven bases. Hardly anyone ever goes there because the land is insignificant despite its beauty. Perhaps you could try going to that place for privacy. Just look for lanterns and follow them until you see weathered walls." Naisha suggested with a small grin.

Sophitia pulled back and blinked in surprise at Naisha's suggestion; she didn't think that anyone would be that… _helpful_ in helping their relationship. She nodded timidly but enthusiastically. "Uh-sure, I'll take a look at it." She smiled.

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Sophitia was relieved when they finally made it to the center square of the capital; the further you went in, the busier it was even though it was nearly deserted this night due to the bloody battle. The blue light that she caught a glimpse of at the corner of her eye gave away the position of Jaina and her magic circle that held white runes around its circumference. Sophitia watched as Jaina held up the jewel to the sky then placed it within the glow of the circle.

"In the name of the Light, I summon thy rays to hold back the shadows of all demons and release thee who'st been chained to the darkness and blocked away from thine glory." Jaina spoke in a soft tone as Sophitia and Naisha's panther that carried the ninja that chose to shut her eyes just to relax them and it seemed to help against the pain caused by the constant movement of the black beast's body as she walked next to her temporary master. Sophitia was glad to find out that she hadn't come late and that Jaina didn't start without her; she wanted to know if Siegfried could really be freed from his years of imprisonment to Soul Edge.

Sophitia watched in awe as white and golden mist-like vapors glided out of the jewel and rested upon the center of the magic circle, gathering up into a human form made out of light although the features of the person couldn't be seen just yet because of the mists' heavenly glow. It took perhaps two full minutes until the mists finally came to a stop and melded in with the overall form that slowly became more defined as the seconds passed: hair could be seen upon and around his shoulders as its golden hue came through along with his youthful complexion then soon his exposed and rather taut chest, his arms, both of which were human—no claws in sight, much to the two observers' relief—and finally his legs which were covered with dark brown and baggy pants with torn hems.

Jaina and Sophitia just stared at the 'Azure Knight' now in his true, pure form as he seemed to sleep soundlessly upon the wet ground and his clothes and hair became just as soaked. The sorceress slowly walked up to him and knelt down by his side, brushing away his long locks out of his eyes. Her eyes caught sight of his long but light scar running down his right eye. "This is him?" Jaina asked out loud as she turned to Sophitia, who looked back at her and nodded. Jaina's royal blue eyes went back to him. '…Handsome.' She thought in a light voice. Suddenly she felt the jewel jerk in her fist, making her eyes snap to it as she rose herself to her feet as it began to shake and jolt so violently that she had to use both hands to hold it.

"What's going on?" Sophitia asked as she came to the cloaked woman who was holding the gem firmly against her stomach as her hands jumped around it.

"I was afraid of this; this demon has a more powerful will then many other demons that I've encountered. It's as if it trying to break out!" Jaina stated as she pulled the jumpy rock away from her stomach and opened her hands to take a look at it but holding it firmly at it sides.

Sophitia and Jaina looked at the thick, black, orange, and deep red swirls within the gem for a few seconds; the swirls seemed calm. Then they began to gather more deeply until a horrible creature-like fiery eye with a pitch black vertical slit snapped open and stared at the both of them with deep, ominous yet nightmarish intent. It was as if it was whispering infamous vows to the both of them as it stared them down, never blinking. Both gasped at the horrible chill it sent down their spines and both wrapped their hands back around it, just to stop the horrible stare.

Sophitia slowly looked up to the ragged-breathed blonde. "It's going to _stay_ in there right? There's no way of it coming out." She had to make sure since it seemed so vengeful in the way that it stared at them.

Jaina took in a breath then hastily shoved it into another pouch that she kept at her side. "It will, as long as it doesn't break. It's not so fragile that simply dropping it on a stone floor would make it shatter, crack maybe, but not shatter. It just can't be slammed against a hard surface, such as concrete." She informed as she held the gem against her hip. "I'll store it and lock it in a box in my quarters. I'll see if I can find a spell strong enough to disperse it."

Sophitia nodded, then looked down towards Siegfried for a few seconds. "What of Siegfried? What'll happen to him?" She asked with concern as she looked back to Jaina, who shrugged slightly.

"He should most likely return to his normal self." She paused and took in a breath as she looked over to the sleeping knight. "I'll take him to my quarters and watch over him until he awakens. You have enough on your hands as it is with Taki." She stated as she looked towards Taki's relaxed form on top of the panther, which was currently laying on a patch of grass as it waited for Sophitia.

As Sophitia looked at Taki, her condition rang into her head again. "Uh, before you go, Taki's rib is really starting to hurt her. So if you could-?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about that." Jaina interrupted as she pulled out a vial of some strange thick, peach-colored liquid that seemed to radiate a small amount of light. She reached it out to Sophitia as she took it and looked at it curiously. "Just basically lather it on the entire side of her ribcage that hurts and make sure it sits overnight with something warm wrapped around it." She explained simply although the requirements had Sophitia a little nervous; she wasn't sure if Taki would go along with her 'lathering' her up on her side. She was finicky enough the last time she was given the chance to help her with her wounds. Sophitia nodded obediently then walked over to the panther, which stood up as she came, making the nearly unconscious Taki groan slightly at the movement.

As she took the reigns, Sophitia turned to Jaina, who had her hand placed on Siegfried's chest. "Jaina." She addressed, waiting until Jaina turned to her in response. "Take care of him, he'll really need it when he wakes up." She informed, watching as Jaina simply kept her eyes on the Greek, blinked, then nodded softly as she let her shimmering light surround her as she teleported to her quarters along with Siegfried.

Sophitia sighed as she turned to Taki. She gazed at Taki's calm yet slightly pain-strained face as gently stroked her arm's length with her fingers before she led the panther toward the direction of the place where Naisha suggested.

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The Greek could tell that she was getting closer due to the slow change in atmosphere: the air was thick and moist with dew at it surrounded the mossy lands that were rather lifeless apart from the beautiful stags and ever-watchful and alert owls that populated these forests among other beasts. The bright papered lanterns that held blue and golden hues of light could attract the eyes as they were evenly spaced a fair distance away from each other, hung on the limbs of mossy trees. As the blonde warrior hung her small shield on the hip of her wide, brown leather belt along with her leaf-blade sword, she noticed that this forest had a rather strange demeanor to it as her gaze swept across the leaves still upon the tall trees. It was somewhat dark and more lifeless than it seemed yet it gave a rather pleasant feeling to it, like it was made to please those who enjoyed being isolated.

Eventually, Sophitia found what she assumed was the place that Naisha spoke of; it had weathered rocks the size of boulders, thick yet flat on there sides as they seemed to protrude out of the rather dry ground as they were spread apart as if to be pillars. She kicked the rotting planks of wood scattered across the ground out of her way as they came to a boulder large enough to lean your whole back upon. It was good timing as Taki just seemed to be waking up with a long groan as she rubbed her face with her hand and looked around while still being on the patient panther's back.

Taki winced as she eased herself off the panther's back and onto the ground near the boulder that Sophitia stopped at. Sophitia helped her into a sitting position as she went into her own, while of course the panther just stretched his entire body then groomed its ruffled, dark fur on its back with its tongue.

The Asian woman groaned within her throat in aggravation as the searing pain in her rib took up her side. "Damn demon, I think it broke the rib." She grumbled as she tried to find a more pain-bearing position while Sophitia just looked at her briefly before going back to helping Taki position herself. "I hope there aren't others in this world that have his height and strength. He's almost as pretentious and annoying as Gel-O-Fury in Japan." She noted as she spoke mostly to herself, lifting her brown eyes to a small parting in the full willow-like trees' leaves to the dark, star-spotted night sky.

Sophitia looked at her curiously, mostly at the odd name she just spoke of. "Who?" Most of her curiosity came from the fact that she had known Taki for a long while and her mentioning a name that she had never heard Taki breathe about really made her want to hear Taki explain it to her.

Taki just looked at her briefly while keeping her head stationary in its position against the slab of rock. "Just a powerful demon that took me quite a long while to permanently destroy." She explained simply.

Sophitia raised an eyebrow, then smiled sweetly as she brought out Jaina's vial. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime." She suggested as she uncorked the vial then unclipped Taki's lower dragonhead-shaped metal pin and exposed Taki's left ribcage. Much to her surprise, Taki didn't protest, she just looked down to the ground in front of her as if she didn't notice anything that Sophitia was doing. Both were unwilling to speak, or rather, didn't know what to say as small talk seemed pointless now. Sophitia leaned forward and smeared the substance on the ninja's cream-colored skin and her eyes snapped to her face and slightly squinting eyes as she jerked upwards and took in a breath in surprise at the contact.

"Does it hurt?" The blonde asked as she tried to caress the skin in a slow fashion in trying to sooth her.

"More of a cold feeling than pain." Taki stated as her body settled. "But it's relaxing in a way, if you give it time." She added in a small voice as if she suddenly thought that her words seemed insignificant. Sophitia looked at her for a moment then looked down, knowing that a period of silence would come back. Taki felt the same as the Greek did. She took in a slow breath then looked down to the ground as she opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry." Both snapped up towards each other in surprise as they heard each other speak in unison. They looked at each other for a moment, smiled, then Sophitia chuckled followed by Taki. Sophitia allowed herself to come a little closer to Taki's form so that they were shoulder to shoulder, feeling more comfortable this way.

"I didn't mean what I said about you wanting attention all the time, I really didn't. I was just so upset that you cared more about my life than you would your own. It's flattering, but…" Taki paused as she looked down from Sophitia's jade eyes and upon the hand that now lifted off from her ribcage, now being slightly disappointed by that action although she didn't know why. "I don't want to see you get hurt on my expense." Taki watched as the panther's wool cover was wrapped around her sides by Sophitia's hands. She looked back up to see the Greek looking at her with soft, almost dreamy eyes.

"I believe that no one would want to have someone get hurt at their expense." She looked to the side, as if to avoid Taki's gaze. "You were right about me, I guess I can overdo things at times and I'm sorry."

The older woman sighed. "You don't need to be sorry. Anybody can be that way. You just want to be recognized for who you are." Taki noted just as Sophitia had finished, making her green eyes come back to Taki'smahogany ones, which slowly drifted away from her own and onto the ground in a rather dreary fashion as if suddenly depressed. "And what you said about my being alone…" Sophitia was about to speak up against what she had said but Taki spoke before she did. "I've been alone for most of my life, so I'm pretty much used to it by now." Taki closed her eyes with her head hung down, feeling the ends of her ponytail brush against her shoulder as they fell forward. "I fear that if I get close to someone, the demons would find the person as my weakness and use them against me. I've… I've been having a lot of dreams about that lately and I don't want that person to go through that, they don't deserve it." Taki's voice became increasingly distant with each sentence.

Sophitia didn't know what to say. The day that they confessed love for each other, Taki was afraid of taking the relationship further, at least at first. She was afraid of demons coming after her Greek mate. Sophitia hesitated as a question nicked at her mind. She opened her mouth once to say it, but nothing came, then she tried a second time and finally found her voice. "Do… Do you ever… picture yourself being in love?"

Taki looked at her for a long few seconds then shook her head as she looked back down. Sophitia wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not; she thought that anyone could picture themselves being in love, especially Taki since she had felt love before and figured that she would've remembered it. "It's quite hard to do so, just because I don't think anyone would be willing to share a life with me, a huntress of demons." She stated inexorably, but Sophitia knew that she couldn't be more wrong. Her attention turned as she felt the warm throe being placed over her legs. She looked up to Taki in confusion.

Taki laughed. "Don't look so surprised; you're still wet from the rain." She smiled. Sophitia blinked at her then smiled brightly in return as Taki leaned herself onto the slab, placed an arm behind her head as a pillow and closed her eyes. The warmth of the dew in the air gradually brought her to a soundless sleep with Sophitia next to her. Sophitia looked at her form until she was sure she was asleep and when she noticed the profile of Taki's lips through her mask, she couldn't help but trace her little finger over them, marveling their softness and missing the feeling of them upon her own.With entranced eyes, she gazedat Taki's closed oriental eyes before she gently laid her head upon Taki's upper chest, loving its warmth.

'How I long for the day when I'm able to taste the sweetness of your lips again, my demon huntress.' She thought in her love-struck tone as she closed her eyes and smiled widely at the sound of Taki's heartbeatwhich lulled her to sleep.

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The Maiev/Taki battle I had to push back for the next chapter because I figured that this one was long enough, I'm making the battle between them have a full or almost full description of their attacks, so it'll be interesting. I hope you liked it. I know the battle scenes weren't that great but I didn't want to ramble on in description since the battle itself was long enough. What'll happen to Soul Edge you ask? Well, you're just going to have to find out for yourself now aren't you? ;P

I also hope you liked the idea of my bringing Siegfried back, I just had to, I feel so bad for the tricked soul. He will play a pretty big roll in the story. Since there are so many main characters in this fic, some may appear more than others in this fic and I'm trying my best to even that out even though it would make the story drag much longer. So I've got to ask you, would you rather have the chapters be shorter and to the point, or descriptive and in the characters perspective while the story proceeds? And would you like the story to keep going and going or be near its end? I'm just wondering just to get an outsiders point of view.


	12. Against Vengeance Part 1: Another New St...

Sorry about the wait, I'll be thinking up some scenes for 'My Way'. I hope you like this chapter. This chapter is meant to be in it's descriptive sense since it's a part of a chapter, kind of like a 'lead-to' chapter. Happy reading :) Do not own Warcraft or Soulcalibur characters.

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Chapter 12: Against Vengeance Part 1: Another New Start

Jaina's eyes kept darting over towards Siegfried's face and limp body as he laid between the sheets of a cot-like bed that was barely long enough for his ankles to lay on the edge. The sunlight that poured through the small window above him gleamed upon his covered torso and long blond hair which splayed over the pillow slightly as well as part of his face and below his bottom lip. Jaina shifted a bit in her wooden seat close to the bed's edge while twisting and ringing a damp rag within her hands nervously.

'He hasn't moved since I teleported him here.' The sorceress noted mentally as she kept her gaze upon his closed eyes. Her gaze swept across the room, over the other small beds that were by the stone walls in two rows; it was what was called a 'healing room' which was used for all humans (as well as any other races as long as they were corporative when using a bed) who needed rest and the Healers were too busy to help them. Her eyes landed upon the door that was locked with a bronze hinge, which she hoped would stay that was as she didn't want anyone to find Siegfried just yet because of her fear that someone may be vengeful for the death of a comrade during the battle with him.

She sighed as her gaze dropped down to Siegfried again. Her eyes lingered upon his face for a few seconds before she leaned forward and dabbed the damp rag along his forehead, hoping it would help in waking him. As she sat back into her seat along with a sigh as he had made no movement, her gaze dropped and landed upon his formerly-deformed arm which laid across his chest. She cocked her head to one side as she curiously brought her fingers forth and let her fingertips run gently across the many thick scars and bulges upon the skin of his arm. Jaina raised an eyebrow confusedly at this lasting condition. 'Perhaps his arm was deformed for so long that some of its distinguishable features actually set in.' She guessed as she continued to let her finger travel along his muscled arm.

"GAH! GET AWAY!"

Jaina jumped and cringed as Siegfried's hand suddenly lashed out and gripped her wrist as he quickly sat himself up in alarm. His eyes were wide and his complexion portrayed horror as his eyes that were like icicles in their powerful blue color darted as he gazed upon the cloaked woman. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion until he noticed her wincing and looked down to realize that he was still holding her wrist. His eyes widened again, in shock with what he was doing and quickly released her.

"I'm sorry." Siegfried bowed his head slightly in his apology as he placed his hand back onto the sheets. "I was just afraid of what I might do to you. I always seem to awaken that way, with that fear." He added in a soft tone, which Jaina marveled at; His voice certainly wasn't like that of his demonic-self. It wasn't dark or even deep like it previously was, instead it was light in a way that portrayed his own youth and was quite gentle even through his strange accent that none of the visitors from the outer-lands seemed to speak. Jaina noticed his head turn as his eyes seemed to survey and take in his surroundings. "Where am I? And more importantly, who are you?" He asked with a semi-quirked eyebrow as his eyes swept back to hers.

Jaina was speechless at first, not knowing where to start as she darted her eyes while trying to think of a good, quick explanation. "Erm, I'm Jaina, Jaina Proudmoore." She smiled timidly at his gaze that remained focused upon her as she continued. "I just brought you here to sleep since-"

"S-sleep? I was asleep! F-for how long!" Siegfried sharply leaned towards her as his eyes widened in what looked like surprise and disbelief.

Jaina merely blinked as she pulled back at his sudden surprise. "I-I think perhaps ten hours." She answered in a low and quizzical voice that came from her confusion which heightened as Siegfried looked back down to the sheets as an excited and rather hopeful smile formed upon his lips. His head snapped back up as he noticed a full-length mirror in a corner of the room. Hastily he sprung himself out of the bed and walked eagerly over to the mirror as he let his eyes quickly travel over his human form. His smile widened as he noticed his normal-colored skin that wasn't in layers of clammy flesh and his eyes held no sign of demonic red in them and became even more overjoyed when his arm was back to its normal shape apart from the scars.

'W-who did this? Is that damn demon really, truly banished from me?' Siegfried thought to himself in a very hopeful tone. "I can't believe I actually slept." He noted with surprise as he listened to Jaina's footsteps as she came closer to look at his reflection with him. "I haven't slept in maybe two years, it feels so refreshing now." His smile slowly faded but into a more charming one that made him look as if he believed himself to now be complete and whole as he no longer had the intrusion of Soul Edge within him. He ran a hand down his now-human arm, not entirely satisfied with the way it looked but was happy nonetheless that he didn't have three claws instead of five fingers. His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed small tears and tiny dark red and black holes upon his chest and back. "Where did these come from?" He asked, perplexed as he ran his fingers lightly over the holes and feeling slight stings as his fingers made contact with a few of the holes.

Jaina remembered seeing those when she pulled him onto the bed the night before. "Wounds from arrows, many arrows." She informed although she had taken an educated guess herself. "They shouldn't take a long while to heal, seeing as to how they hardly had any affect on your demonic being when they struck." Her voice became lower and lower since the point when she mentioned his former demonic side as she looked to the ground slightly.

His eyes seemed to voluntarily drop to the slightly shorter woman's reflection and noticed her uneasy aura, which is one that he had felt many times whenever he crossed paths with a person and held a sword that was about the size of Soul Edge. He stammered slightly as he tried to recollect his thoughts and think of something to say. For someone who watched over him, he didn't want to be inconsiderate, especially to one who seemed somewhat timid (which he hoped was part of her own being instead of her feeling intimidated by him from what he used to be). His eyes stopped to lay on what trees he could see outside and suddenly had an idea. "Miss Jaina?"

"Yeah?" She raised her eyebrows as she sharply turned to him to hear his request. She watched as he slowly turned back from the window to meet her gaze.

"About where I am…?" Jaina was about to speak to inform him but was cut off by his words. "Would you mind showing instead of telling me?" He asked kindly as he turned completely towards her. "It's been a long while since I actually laid eyes on the beauty of landscapes since that bastard of a demon polluted my mind." He stated as his eyes drifted across the floor at mentioning his infamous demon. "Then maybe you can tell me happened to me; I hardly remember anything thanks to Soul Edge." He added, knowing full well that what he said was half-truth.

Jaina smiled charmingly at his proposition then nodded. "Of course. I would enjoy that." She hoped that her 'friendliness' with him wasn't going too far with that last comment as she walked to a back corner of the room where she kept her tall staff. "Although I may warn you…" She started as she turned to walk back to him. "It would be wise to not attract too much attention to yourself. There are some who may still recognize you, or at least your form and, surely most, would try to harm you." She added with caution as she stepped in front of the door but didn't unlock it until she was sure that Siegfried was still willing to follow despite that warning.

Siegfried looked at her with a plain expression that seemed almost apathetical, although she knew that what he was feeling now was not apathy. Siegfried looked down once then nodded as he followed her through the doorway.

"Although I'll be happy to inform you that someone of whom you know, or at least _should_ know, is within these very same forests and she's eager to know how you are." Jaina added but didn't turn to face him as she spoke and lead the way through the healthy, tall trees and fresh air that Siegfried greatly took advantage of.

"Sophitia…?" He asked in a soft tone as he slowly closed his eyes then reopened them again, although he sounded as though he knew it and didn't have to question it.

Jaina sharply turned to him in surprise; she didn't expect him to know Sophitia as well as he seemed to. "You…?" She started with curiosity but didn't know how to continue.

Siegfried seemed to chuckle as he closed his eyes slowly and opened them as he had done before. "Soul Edge may have made me forget a lot of things, but I certainly haven't forgotten _her_." He proclaimed as he mentioned Sophitia in his same soft tone as if the memories of her were slowly coming back.

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Sophitia murmured contently as she shifted her position ever-so-slightly as to not wake the sleeping woman below her. She had been up for what she guessed an hour or so but she never wanted to move; she enjoyed this fluttering feeling she experienced whenever she felt Taki's chest rise and fall as she breathed as well as the steady heartbeat drum in her ear and the warmth of what little exposed skin there was by Taki's neck. There could be a battle and bullets flying over their heads for all she cared, she _wasn't_ going to move.

The Greek shivered as she heard chilling whispers at a corner of her ear. She flinched as she felt something cold poke at her back as she was lying on her side. Then a harsh tap which actually felt like an impatiently firm slap on her shoulder made her reluctantly open her furrowed eyes in annoyance and sharply brought herself into a sitting position to face the inconsiderate intruder. Her eyes widened as she took in a small, silent gasp as Sylvanas burning red eyes seemed to pierce into hers as the archer was kneeling next to her however more than a foot away as if to be safe.

Sylvanas' transfixed eyes seemed cold, annoyed and even somewhat disapproving. "You are so predictable." She stated in a low, harsh tone as if she was disgusted.

Sophitia looked at the undead elf with confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked in a soft voice so that Taki wouldn't wake up to find an undead archer next to her.

"You know very well what I mean!" Sylvanas shot back as she leaned forward but kept her voice low as well. "You're willing to go out of the city limits to possibly even hostile terrain just to be with your former lover! You were so careless and thoughtless during the battle that this hunter's battered body meant more to you than your own heartbeat!" She stated chidingly as she pointed a pale, slender finger accusingly at the younger girl. "You're just lucky I shot that warning arrow next to you, otherwise you _and_ your beloved would've been mincemeat." She proclaimed nastily as she stood up only to walk a few feet away and leaned against a tall ruined stone that stood among the scattered debris.

Sophitia was just about to raise her voice slightly in protest until she stopped herself as Sylvanas' new information just hit her. "You… You shot that arrow at me?" She asked, slightly perplexed at Sylvanas' action.

Sylvanas rolled her red eyes. "Well I had to break you out of your little trance with that woman somehow!" She explained as if it was obvious. "Here, take a look for yourself." The archer pulled one of her long arrows out from her dark brown case and held it up in front of her.

Sophitia squinted as she stood up and walked over to Sylvanas as she recognized the black feathers with blood red tips. She also took the time to notice the sculpted dark wood of the arrows base which held designs that didn't exactly show a beautiful, whimsical sense like the Night Elves' arrows did, Sylvanas' seemed to give off an aura of death and decay. "Did you make these marks?" She asked curiously as she brought her fingers close to the arrow but didn't touch it, as if to feel its strong yet elusive aura.

Sylvanas merely glanced at the designs then looked away as if she quickly grew tired of it. "All dark rangers' arrows look the same. I have to carve mine that way; it's almost like a label or a sign of recognition for us." She explained simply although she had a hidden tone that sounded as if inside she really didn't want anything to do with this 'label-making'.

Sophitia let her fingertips touch the arrow's base then nearly cried out in pain as what felt like her fingers were suddenly pressed hard into a ragging furnace. She reflexively shot her hand back behind her as she checked at her fingertips to find them only very red and now the only pain she felt was a hard pulsing sensation within her fingertips.

"Interesting." Sylvanas seemed to merely state in a slightly intrigued however not concerned tone as she gazed at the raggedly breathing girl before her. Sophitia shot her eyes over to look wide-eyed at the elf who just placed her arrow back into her case that hung over her shoulder along with her thick, long and dark bow. "Normally only Lightbringers and Paladins feel the fires of damnation within my arrows." She held her chin with her thumb and index finger as she seemed to be trying to conclude something about this sudden action. "You must be purer than I had imagined." She added softly as she continued to comprehensively look over the blonde.

Sophitia blinked at the pale-blue skinned woman who looked even paler in the small amount of light given through the thick trees. She looked at her in an almost quizzical fashion however she didn't show any real expression that proved her confusion. '…'purer'…?'

Both were caught off-guard as a long dagger flew passed Sophitia and cut straight through the ball of Sylvanas' throat. The undead woman's eyes seemed to widen then narrow as she cringed at the feel of a long piece of metal jammed through her throat. She began to squint as she tried to grab the dagger's red hilt to pull it out only to feel waves of lightning shoot through the joints of her fingers and wrist, making her yell out slightly in pain. Of course with her condition, her yell came out as a grotesque gargle as dark red, almost black blood slowly dribble down the corner of her mouth.

Sophitia grimaced at the sight of the throat-slitted Sylvanas as the elf wrapped her hand around her own wounded neck as if she thought it would help in getting the dagger out. Sophitia instinctively grabbed Sylvanas' pale shoulder and held her firmly back as she grabbed the dagger's hilt and ripped it back out, hearing Sylvanas let out another gurgling yelp as she bent over and spat out, to Sophitia's surprise, merely a small amount of dark blood although let out loud coughs to get the blood out. The Greek looked at the blade in her hand and recognized its red hilt. She turned back to find Taki sitting up and glaring hostilely at Sylvanas.

The older woman's eyes were dangerously narrowed as she stood up (a little shaky because of the new unstable feeling in her once-broken ribs)and walked close to Sylvanas' form. "Is there a reason why you're here and not chained to the wall like you deserve?" She asked harshly as she sneered at her.

Sylvanas seemed to growl deeply as she sharply stood herself back up and glared daggers at Taki while keeping a pale blue hand still wrapped around her throat. "Oh y-you bitc!" She choked and gargled again as she felt her voice box twitch painfully as she tried to speak.

Taki smirked as she came forth with her second short sword. "Can't speak huh? Well that's what you get for trying to take Sophitia's life again. I thought you would've learned the first time, but I guess I'll really have to finish you for good." She stated in a rather confident tone as she held her blade downward in her hand as she raised it above her head, very ready to bring it down upon the undead woman that didn't seem to show a hint of fear.

"Taki wait!" Sophitia jumped in and grabbed Taki's arm before she could swing it downward. Taki's eyes snapped to hers in stunned surprise as her eyes furrowed with bewilderment. "She doesn't mean any harm, not to me!" Sophitia tried to explain, however knowing that Taki would find her words preposterous.

Taki quirked an annoyed eyebrow at her as she leaned forward. "Did she corrupt your mind of something? She's the same demon that slit your very own throat!" She yelled in her fury and annoyance at the blonde blocking her.

Sophitia sighed. "I know. But we made an agreement that she would help us find Arthas and Frostmourne. Please, just trust me." She spoke softly as she gently let her other hand rest on Taki's upper chest in a reassuring manner. Sophitia could tell that she was tense with anger, suspicion and worry.

The ebony-haired woman glared at her then looked over her shoulder to find Sylvanas sneering suspiciously at her. Although she seemed to also be running her fingers along her throat as if trying to 'repair' it, making Taki quirk an eyebrow at her before she turned back to Sophitia. "You can't seriously expect me to-"

"I know you'd never trust her, and you don't even have to do anything that has to do with her." Sophitia knew that that was definitely the option that Taki and Sylvanas would choose and she didn't need Taki's look of agreement to prove it. "But please, leave her be and don't attack her and certainly not randomly. I've been communicating with her for maybe two days now and so far she hasn't laid a hand on me." She added in an almost positive tone, hoping that it would help to making Taki trust her judgment.

Taki's eyes had slowly softened as the smaller girl before her spoke, but she still held uneasiness within her about the idea of her new friend being in a partner-like relationship with an undead elven archer. Taki blinked as she looked away from Sophitia's unwavering green eyes then took the Greek's hand within her own as she lifted it off of her upper chest. "I just want to know one thing; she's helping us find Arthas right? So what's in it for her?" She asked as she went back into her suspicious tone and peered over Sophitia's shoulder. 'There has to be a catch to all this.' She noted mentally and knowingly.

"I want Arthas' head in my hands." Sylvanas suddenly spoke up in a raspy, uneven voice. Taki and Sophitia both turned to her and didn't speak, knowing that she may continue. She seemed to gulp painfully before she continued. "I would do it myself but I'm basically alone in my thoughts against him and I admit that I wouldn't get far into assassinating him alone. There are others like me who wish to overthrow him but I have no desire in taking over his command and I'd rather burn than join the others who want to kill him." She added in a nasty tone although it came out in somewhat of a gurgling sound.

Sophitia looked back to Taki with reassuring eyes and Taki looked down at her, still in her uneasy state. Sophitia's eyes showed trust in what Sylvanas said while Taki just blinked at her as she looked at her for a moment to find any doubt or fear in Sophitia's eyes; she didn't see anything but trust and hope. "I don't know-" Taki stopped and sharply looked back to where Sylvanas now 'used' to stand; all there was left was a rustling pile of leaves that slowly settled around the spot that the undead archer once stood. "Hmm." Was all she could mutter as her eyes narrowed at the patch of land then looked back to Sophitia, who seemed to notice as well but only seemed to sigh as if she was used to Sylvanas' elusiveness. The ebony-haired girl waited until Sophitia looked back to her when she tried to speak in a possible defense for Sylvanas. However, Taki spoke before the younger girl did. "You got yourself into this little partnership with an undead elf so I'll let _you_ deal with her. Of course, should she ever show her loss of integrity to you, don't blame me for shooting yourself in the foot." She warned with an accusingly pointed finger aimed just beneath her nose.

Sophitia just blinked at her with her soft gaze and sighed. "I promise that she won't bring any harm to any of us or the races. Just leave her to me and don't worry yourself over her." She stated softly as she handed Taki's partially blood-stained dagger back. Taki let out a hard sigh as she took her blade; in truth, it wasn't Sylvanas she was worried about, it was Sophitia might've gotten herself into by doing what she did just because of her good will. Sophitia's eyes furrowed in curiosity as something hit her; she knew that Taki would always hate Sylvanas, but why did she seem so… hard now? She was completely different the night before: gentle and caring. 'Did something happen to her during the night while I was asleep with her?' The Greek thought to herself concernedly as she tried to blink it out of her mind. 'Perhaps it was just Sylvanas' presence that made Taki so edgy and was just worried about me.' She guessed the excuse that she hoped was true; she had never seen Taki change so dramatically unless provoked.

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Siegfried felt a chill go up his back as the cool air brushed against his bare back. He was used to heat more so than the cold since Nightmare always liked to surround himself in the flames of destruction. It was times like this that a shirt or at least a breast plate would be helpful, especially when he noticed that quite a few of levitating, ruby-eyed and brown haired women liked to run their hungry eyes all over this 'newcomer'. Of course Siegfried smirked slightly at that kind of attention; he never got that when he was back roaming around Europe with his beloved sword, what his sword was before Soul Edge consumed it: his "Zweihander".

Siegfried's eyes inspected and surveyed the straw-roofed houses, shrine-like wells with vines around their rims, and strange, tusk-roofed burrows around him. His eyebrows rose in both intrigue and confusion at how diverse these lands and civilizations appeared. Although he didn't remember much, he recognized almost all the faces that his eyes laid upon. Be them beast-like and brute, human appearance with a solitary complexion, or long-eared with a firm and almost amazon-like complexion, he felt he knew them all so thus he wasn't very much surprised with each.

"How far would you like me to take you… erm… Lord Siegfried?" Jaina flinched at her own sentence as if she instantly regretted the way she made herself sound. 'I have no idea what I should address him as, I don't know what he was used to being called before.' Jaina thought as if to give herself her own excuse.

"'Lord'?" Siegfried seemed to chuckle in his amusement, making Jaina feel even worse as she turned to him. "You don't have to be so formal with me even if you don't know me all that well. So I'd prefer 'Siegfried', thank you though for troubling yourself to going that far." He explained with an amused yet reassuring smile as he turned back to her. Jaina grinned at the demeanor he always appeared to hold then chuckled a bit herself as Siegfried continued. "And to answer your question, you can take me as far as you wish; I have no knowledge of these lands anyway." The golden-haired knight seemed to pause for a moment. "Speaking of me having no knowledge up to this point, is…? How was…? Is 'It' really gone?" Siegfried stammered as he tried to find the right words although that didn't seem to faze him that much as he had a very hopeful look in his eyes as he looked down to his 'nightly guardian' walking next to him. He wanted to use the word "It" instead of "Soul Edge" because he didn't want to take the chance of attracting attention in case one person in these civilizations may have remembered the name.

Jaina looked and blinked at him for a minute as if she was having trouble understanding him but then suddenly she spoke as she slightly looked away toward the lush, partially-trampled ground in front of her. "If by 'gone' you mean from_ you_, then yes; you should be back to your normal human self?"

Jaina was startled as Siegfried suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him. His eyes were focused, serious and even powerful as he looked unwaveringly into her brightly dark blue ones. A lock of his golden hair over his forehead fell even further forward and covered his long scar that crossed his right eye. "Yes, but do you _know_ that It's out of me?" His tone held a bit of forcefulness to it but his eyes looked desperate behind his seriousness.

'Soul Edge must have really given him a hard beating to make him seem this shaken.' Jaina concluded in her mental notes. She quirked an eyebrow and looked to the side as she tried to find a way of proving it to him even though she wasn't sure herself, although she was always confident about her knowledge and skill in magic-casting so she was more sure about his normal condition than not. "Would It be willing to leave a piece, a fraction of it behind?" She decided to prove it to him in the form of a question.

Siegfried merely blinked but his hard expression didn't change, he only loosened his grip on her shoulders as he leaned himself slightly away from her. "No. Every little bit contains pieces of It's power and I'm sure It would never want to sacrifice any of its strength." He mused as he lowered his hands to his sides.

"See? And because of It, you were never able to sleep, right? So if it was still in you, wouldn't it have taken the advantage of corrupting your mind and body again during your sleep?" Jaina carried on and asked in a positive and convincing tone as a smile began to graze her lips at how she hoped Siegfried may react to this truth of Soul Edge's essence being blown from his body and mind.

The taller knight just looked almost blindly at although he seemed almost dumbfounded as if he was speechless. His eyes darted as he tried to find other exceptions but smiled widely as he couldn't. Siegfried looked down with a relieved expression while he tried to hold in his excitement. Suddenly his grin faded, making Jaina come closer to him with a look of concern in her eyes. He lifted up his scared and partially-bruised arm and let his eyes roam over it, making his face look more and more melancholy.

"The capital." Siegfried suddenly spoke up in a distant tone then slowly lifted his gaze to Jaina's eyes which looked rather quizzical. "I remember… can you take me to the capital?" His tone was hushed as he spoke as if the words slipped from his throat.

Jaina just looked at him and swallowed nervously. 'After the way the plains of the capital looked when the rain came…' She looked away as if to avoid his heavy gaze but had no choice but to look back up as he took a cautiously slow step towards her. His eyes almost looked pleading behind his stone-like expression. 'His eyes… if he's that willing, that ready to face it – what he was willed to do by Soul Edge…' Jaina dropped her gaze to the ground, sighed silently and rubbed her nape – her coming decision didn't make her feel all that well; "I'll take you there."

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Tyrande stood at the summit of the steps of her ziggurat by the double doors to her quarters. She watched in silence as the thick smoke from the pyres that held the corpses or her warriors rise from behind the forest trees not far off and spread amongst the parted clouds which were outlined by the day's steadily rising golden light. She made sure that they were by the edges of the large rivers so that the ashes could be swept into the streams and carried throughout the forests. That was what the people of her large civilization always did to honor their fallen. She let the other races do what they wished to honor their own dead; she felt it was right to do that and let them respect their dead in their own way.

She kept one arm wrapped around her stomach while her other leaned upon the arm wrapped around her so that she could let her hand cover her mouth and partially block her nose – the stench of rotting and burning flesh always seemed to carry over to tickle her nose harshly no matter what direction the wind blew. She let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes and eventually let them furrow agitatedly as the constant '_clank-clank-clank-ruffle-clank-clank-clank-ruffle_' that came from merely five feet from her began to make her nerves twitch in slight annoyance.

"Maiev, could you please refrain from doing that? You're making my nerves as well as my patience quite unsettled." The priestess asked calmly through her slender fingers with her eyes remaining closed.

Maiev abruptly stopped her tensely constant pacing across the ziggurat platform and glared at Tyrande who seemed to show her aura of calm solitude. "I'm very sorry to have made you concerned, _my _'_priestess_'." The extensively long-haired warden mocked with a sneer while placing a hand on her chest during her mocking apology before she continued. "But how can I not be this way when you know that a great sum of our sisters have been taken mercilessly into their deaths? Or has that all slipped from your mind?" She asked with a cockily quirked eyebrow beneath her helmet as she leaned forward with her hands on her hips.

Maiev's harsh words made Tyrande's muscles tense angrily but tried her best to calm herself. "It has not. And there is nothing we can do for them now except honor their bravery. Please Maiev, do try to not be so vengeful; the Azure Knight is gone, so which Jaina believes. Knowing this, you should just be content with what you have now." Tyrande opened her moonlit eyes and swept them over to Maiev's tense but wordless form. "Naisha, for example. Since you seem to care about her deeply by the look you always seem to have in your eyes whenever you look upon her." She added simply, which only made Maiev's illuminating green eyes snap completely to hers in surprise then slowly looked down to the ground beneath the ziggurat.

A small blush came to Maiev although she was thankful that she chose to keep her helmet on instead of taking all of her armor off earlier that day so all that she wore was her usual, dark green, long and hoodless cloak with her normal clothes beneath it. She rubbed her nape in her embarrassment then suddenly her face screwed in anger as she brought her hand harshly back down to her side. "Don't butt into places where you don't belong _priestess_!" She snapped back nastily.

Tyrande had to pinch her lips with her fingers to keep herself from gigging at Maiev's reaction. She lowered her head, feeling a bit shameful (although still a little amused) for making Maiev react the way she did. "I apologize, I'm just merely stating-"

"Uh-huh, and what about you?" Maiev interrupted sharply, making Tyrande turn to her, bewildered at what Maiev might be commenting at next. "What about that demon we now have in chains in our underground prisons under maximum security?" She pointed downwards as she spoke as if the underground was just below the ziggurat even though she was just doing it for emphasis. Maiev stood herself straight and slowly walked to Tyrande until she was close enough to speak in a hushed tone. "I know who he is, Tyrande. And I've heard my share of rumors concerning the both of you inside and outside of the forests of Ashenvale." She stated in a deep tone of slight warning.

Tyrande's eyes shifted to look utterly serious, almost to the point where her bright starlit pupils bored sharply into Maiev's own - the warden quirked an eyebrow at this. "I'd rather you not make things personal Maiev." The priestess' voice was soft but startlingly firm like concrete.

Maiev's eyes narrowed until slits of shining green could be shone through. "You already did by bringing Naisha into this, so I wouldn't talk if I were you." She stated in her same tone of warning although no matter how low it sounded, Tyrande could hear the threat beneath it. The priestess looked at her for a long moment, merely blinking once in the meantime until they heard Mina hastily reach the summit where they stood. She tried to catch her breath after running up the huge flight of stairs as she looked up at them.

"Hey, _huff,_ just so you know… _huff-puff_… Siegfried is here and being accompanied by Jaina." Mina informed as her breath slowly came back and stood herself straight again.

Both Tyrande and Maiev were giving her odd, bewildered looks as if they had never seen this Korean girl before. "What do you mean? Who's this Siegfried?" Tyrande asked curiously as she took a few steps closer to the red-brown haired girl.

"He's the knight. You know, the hos- well then again the 'former' host of Soul Edge?" Mina explained with a quirked eyebrow as she had corrected herself in describing Siegfried. However, she became a little afraid when Maiev's eyes abruptly narrowed into slits while Tyrande seemed to strangely lower her gaze. Mina's eyebrows furrowed quizzically as she looked at them, noticing how close they really seemed to be and how quiet the two of them were; by Mina's observations, if you put the two of them in the same room for at least half an hour, they'd never stay quiet in their blunt arguments. "Are you two okay? You seemed in some kind of a tiff when I came up. Did I interrupt something?" She asked concernedly.

Maiev closed her eyes while slightly furrowing her eyebrows ad if suddenly annoyed as she stood herself straight and straightened her cloak. "No." She answered simply as she begun to walk passed Mina. "It would be none of your business anyway, now would it human?" Maiev harshly stated as she swept passed the human girl to go down the steps and meet this 'former host of Soul Edge'. Mina watched her go while she pulled back in surprise; she had forgotten about how blunt Maiev can be.

Mina looked next to her to find Tyrande standing closer to her than before with a reassuring smile even though it seemed quite faint even with the golden sunlight that shined upon each ziggurat. "Don't be concerned over her. She's just being who she is." Mina could hear the soft certainty in her voice as Tyrande's eyes seemed to fall to the steps just below them and watching as her eye caught Maiev's form as it just made its way to ground level and turned the corner to go around the ziggurat.

Mina looked down to find Tyrande lacing what looked like a soft purple handkerchief in between her slender lavender-skinned fingers in an almost thoughtful fashion. "Are you sure I didn't interrupt something?" She asked as she looked back up in slight bewilderment.

"Oh certainly." Tyrande waved a hand as if to simply dismiss the idea from her head although her eyes seemed to show a different emotion but Mina decided not to question. "She's being her normal self. Speaking of which I'd better make haste myself, otherwise who knows what Maiev may do to the 'former' host of Soul Edge." She spoke as if the thought suddenly hit her and snapped her fingers behind her, making Starstrider quickly and obediently come to her side. Tyrande quickly swung her legs over the tall white tiger's back and held on to her reins and shoulder bone as they galloped swiftly down the staircase as if it was easy enough to gallop over if leveled.

Mina took in and let out a heavy breath as she made her way back down the brown-tan colored stone steps. "I can't wait to see how this all goes." She spoke aloud in a dulled tone as if she could already see it all happening.

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Siegfried took a deep breath in dreading anticipation as he walked through the last of the vast forests' trees and came into full view of the capital. At first glance, everything seemed at peace and prosperous: bright sunlight upon ziggurats that almost looked golden with the sky's light upon them, pathways and entrances were bustling with lavender-skinned elves as the majority of the capital's population that gossiped lightly as they passed. However, it was when he looked down that he felt his breath get caught in his throat; scattered puddles of water seemed to have a tint of red in them and the damp lushly-green grass had long, slash-like dark red stains upon in, which were just as well scattered as the puddles and very obvious to any eye.

"Blood." Siegfried spoke softly but Jaina, who stood next to him, could just barely hear him as she looked up to his lost gaze that seemed fixed upon the ground. "This was my doing." The real demeanor of the capital's population began to come to Siegfried's realization. Everyone's gaze seemed to be lost as they walked about either doing their usual tasks or just walking to their leisure. It was obvious that they were still in mourning.

Jaina's eyes portrayed more and more concern the longer she looked at him. His eyes looked dreary as he seemed to survey the lands and people around him. He looked as if all his strength to move had suddenly been taken from him, as if he just wanted to fall to his knees and keep watching like an angel of mourning upon a desolate cloud. She noticed that a white lily-like flower that he had picked on the way over to where they stood (although she had no idea why he picked it in the first place but decided to be respectful enough to not ask) was being held tightly but carefully within his grasp as if he was afraid that he might drop and ruin it.

"Well! Is there a reason why you brought your sorry little murderous and cold-hearted self back here?" Jaina rolled her eyes as she recognized the deep voice of the female warden as she walked closer to the both of them. "You have courage for doing such a thing." She added as she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. The long-haired elf could only watch as Siegfried's reply was to merely turn to her with emotionless eyes as he kept his lips closed. Maiev's expression quickly screwed into anger and annoyance at his speechlessness. "Speak you FOOL!" She demanded as she came towards him and nearly took him by the neck. Her commanding voice quickly brought nearby onlookers from the capital. Siegfried showed an apathetic emotion; only a dulled sympathy could be seen within his eyes.

"Leave him alone Maiev; his mind was polluted by Soul Edge, he did nothing wrong, none of it was his fault." Jaina bravely tried to explain as her hands balled into fists. She caught Siegfried turn his eyes to hers as they seemed to hold a glint of gratitude in them. Jaina softened as she saw this but not long enough to hear Maiev begin to rant again.

"Stay out of this human!" Maiev snapped as she turned to the Sorceress who was slightly taken aback but kept her firm stance. "None of your kind died because of him!" Maiev continued harshly making Jaina noticeably pull back in surprise at her assertion; she was right even though there _were_ only five humans within the entire settlement counting herself but not Siegfried since he was inhuman at the time of the battle. Maiev sharply turned back to Siegfried. "Seeing as to how I represent justice, I should do away with you right now for all your sins!" The tall elf quickly pulled out a small but long-hilted dagger from behind her cloak, which she always carried for defense in the case that she didn't have her signature weapon. She press the blade against Siegfried's throat, ready to slash it across underneath his complexion that seemed as if he wasn't afraid of this moment.

"Maiev, please." Maiev growled as she heard Tyrande's soft deep voice behind her. She turned only enough so that she could glare at the priestess at the corner of her eye, noticing her shifting her position on Starstrider as Mina stood behind her as well as noticing onlookers scattered around them. "Release him. He's not only unarmed but he hasn't done a thing to anyone or anything around us." The priestess softly spoke coherently.

"I won't!" Maiev replied stubbornly. "Again something has slipped from your mind Tyrande; the stench of burning corpses drifts to us and he is the cause of it!" Maiev's voice rose to nearly become a scream.

"Maiev…" Maiev turned sharply as she heard the voice of her closest friend among the onlookers. Naisha had her faithful feline battle companion next to her, although with it near her she wondered where Taki and Sophitia were if they didn't come back with her panther. The sentry's gaze was intensely soft upon her own as she came closer. "I know you like to live up to your vocation and reputation, but don't lash out at someone who hasn't even been given a fair trial. Please Maiev, let him go." Naisha asked in the most sincere tone that Maiev had heard in quite a while. The warden blinked at her, then glanced at Tyrande and when she saw the priestess' eyes upon hers she quickly turned away as their previous argument came back to her. She shut her eyes tightly then slowly released Siegfried.

Siegfried took in a breath and nearly stumbled backward until he felt Jaina push him upward from behind to help him regain his balance. He watched as Maiev shot him a cold, nasty look before she turned on her heel and left in Naisha's direction, avoiding Tyrande's gaze. The onlookers held cold stares upon him while others just looked at him plainly or in intrigue until they slowly dispersed from the scene.

Tyrande came over to Siegfried upon her 'steed' of a tiger and gave him an expressionless gaze. Her eyebrows raised in intrigue as the knight seemed to bow slightly to her. "I greatly apologize for the suffering I've surely caused to your race as well as the other races I've seen about these woods." He brought his head back up to meet her gaze. "If there's anything I can do to redeem my name as well as help in the mourning of your lost comrades, I will be happy to do so. I've tried this many times before to the villages of my lands and I'm ready to try in these lands as well." He stated calmly and sincerely.

Tyrande was taken aback by his sincerity and soft tone; she wouldn't have guessed for a dark knight whose killed hundreds while under the influence of a demon would have such a gentle soul. "Sir Siegfried…" She started although she wasn't really sure of what to say to ease his mind although she quirked an eyebrow when he appeared to smirk slightly (due to his notice that Jaina wasn't the only one in calling someone by a formal name).

"You haven't changed much I see." Siegfried immediately turned to the voice that he almost completely recognized even though it sounded a bit deeper than the last time he'd met this person. He tried to hold in his grin so that he'd look a little more sophisticated as Sophitia stood close to him. He soon noticed that an Asian woman in a tight red body suit with two small blades hooked on her back whom he didn't recognize close behind the Greek with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes that looked at him between a normal look or a surveying eye upon him.

Siegfried's attention turned to Sophitia as he suddenly straightened himself up and rubbed the back of his head with his palm nervously. "Uh-Ms. Alexandra," He started, making it his turn to be formal as he now knew how Jaina felt when she called him "Lord". "Jaina told me about you being here and I remember Soul Edge ranting in my head about you. It's a pleasure to see!" He let out what sounded like a slight squawk of surprise as Sophitia suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a light, friendly hug.

Sophitia rested her head lightly upon his broad shoulder as she felt him tense in surprise of her suddenness. "Siegfried, I've known you since you were about sixteen and stubbornly eager to get what you wanted for your father's honor. You don't have to act so formal with me since I know how you can really be at times. I'm just really happy to see you back to your old human self." She stated in a soothing voice that made Siegfried relax and slowly wrap a trembling arm around her waist in return as she finished. He kept the hand that held the flower behind him. He let out a content breath and blinked slightly, willing to wait until she would release him. His blue gaze seemed to involuntarily go from Sophitia's golden hair at his chin to meet Taki's soft brown eyes which sharply snapped to the ground and reposition her legs in her standing position as he looked at her. He looked back down as he felt Sophitia break away from him with a warm smile on her face. 'Better not ask who or what the flower is for.' She thought to herself as she smirked inwardly.

Siegfried sighed as he back away a few steps to see how much she had grown herself since the last time he'd seen her when he was still trying to tone his skills in holding and swinging his Zweihander even though he figured he was moderately good at it at the time. "You haven't changed much yourself even though you were quite fierce with that sword and shield, which I see you still have." He noted as he pointed at the leaf-blade sword and round shield at her sides.

Sophitia seemed to let out a small laugh as she placed her hand on her hip and glared at him playfully. "Yes, well, as I said, you were very stubborn." She noted with a smirk as she noticed Taki walk passed her in the corner of her eye to Tyrande's direction. Her smile slowly faded as she watched her from behind then looked down and seemed to stammer slightly to Siegfried as she took in a breath then looked back up to him. "I hope you are well now Siegfried, I'll leave you in Jaina's care since I'm having some… small problems of my own." She stated, just catching Jaina's surprised, bewildered and slightly nervous look in the corner of her eye to her left. The sorceress' eyes seemed to dart from Sophitia to Siegfried and raised her eyebrows in slight intrigue as the knight didn't seem to have a problem being around Jaina, or at least by the relaxed and content way Siegfried looked back at Sophitia as she told him this. Siegfried merely nodded, concerned about what the 'small problems' may be but decided not to butt into the affairs of a woman he hadn't seen in a long while, feeling that it wasn't his place anyway.

Tyrande watched Taki come towards her and lifted an eyebrow as she waited for the ninja to speak. "If it is alright with you, I wish to know what happened to that demon that attacked during the battle. I've been confused about it for most of the morning and I want to be relieved of it. If you have it, I wish to take a look at it." Taki stated in a proclaiming voice as if she wasn't going to take any answer of delay until the priestess would finally agree. Tyrande took in a sigh as she looked at the Asian's unwavering eyes and was about to speak until Maiev (who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with Naisha until she heard the word "demon") decided to speak.

"I'd be happy to show you." She answered simply and sincerely, which made Taki pull back at her change of attitude until she saw that sly grin that the warden held for some baffling reason although it made Tyrande very unsettled when the memory of their previous argument came to her. "I want to see how the little brute is doing anyway." She added cynically. Without waiting for Taki's reply, she quickly turned on her heal to the direction of the underground chambers. Taki turned to Sophitia with a raised eyebrow, asking a question that she figured the younger girl would understand. Sophitia looked at her and gently nodded as she followed giving Siegfried a departing wave.

"Perhaps we'll catch up sometime." Sophitia suggested as she looked at Siegfried one last look. She watched Siegfried blink then nod once before he turned to Jaina who was just as confused as to knowing what to do or go next as he did. However both were saved from an almost complete moment of silence when Tyrande suggested that she'd take a walk around the forests and asking him a few questions concerning him and Soul Edge as well as some curiosity about matters concerning Arthas, hoping that he may remember.

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Sophitia followed the two elves, being Maiev and Naisha, along with Taki to the underground prisons, which appeared to be at the far edge of the capital and within a ziggurat that appeared to be merely a quarter of the size of the taller ones. At first when Taki saw it, she quirked an eyebrow at how small in length and width the prison appeared to be, wondering how they could keep fugitives inside such a small place. Her question was soon easily answered as Naisha stepped forth and opened the thick wooden door with multiple locks and large hinges and partly covered with loose vines and led them down a stone spiral staircase.

The bottommost part was almost completely dark although the walls hung torches that, of course, were lit to ease the eyesight in seeing the multiple cells that were much like the ones that Sylvanas was held in, only more wood was used on the walls instead of stone which was only used as flooring. It was eerily quiet apart from the shifting movements within the cells even though there weren't many who occupied the cells. The four passed all the glaring fugitives at the back wall of their cells so that half or maybe less of their bodies were hidden behind the shadows while others looked at them in a frightened fashion that they tried to hide as if they thought their deaths sentenced upon them were coming.

A sentry walked by on her patrol but didn't nod nor smile as they passed, she just glanced as if it was a major part of their job as patrollers. Naisha seemed to sigh as the sentry went passed, knowing how it was down in these depths for long eerie nights; prison duty certainly wasn't fun when it came to be Naisha's turn.

They finally came to a large, locked door guarded by two male Night Elves with plum-colored loose masks that hid their nose and mouth and holding long, wide-bladed spears within their bare, crossed arms as they stood at each side of the door. Their moonlit eyes illuminated brightly in this darkness, the same could also be said for the sentry still on her patrol. They were about to ask what their business was for going down without a pass of their authenticity but were silence as they recognized Maiev, who solidly ordered them to open the door for them to pass. They both nodded obediently as the guard closest to the lock and golden handle pulled the door open for them.

Taki and Sophitia's eyebrows raised in almost unison as they gazed and strode into the cube-like large room with a square stone platform surrounded with water and had long pillars at each corner that seemed to hold up the ceiling with the help of thick, leaf-covered vines. The weaker leaves seemed to randomly fall onto the platform around the lone, kneeling figure in the center of the platform that had flickering lights of torches in far-off corners showing his broad profile for random seconds. As the only two humans of the four came in, they noticed two female guards and one male guards standing their own wall of the room apart from the wall that held the door.

With a 'creak' and low 'click' of the door being shut, Maiev came forward in what looked like a form of haste and stopped right in front of the figure that was chained to the platform beneath him by his wrists, legs, neck and waist. Naisha came to her left side and Taki stood at her other while Sophitia stopped at Taki's right. Both humans noted that the male 'demon' looked just like any other night elf apart from two things; his long, black, leather-like wings that were folded behind his back and the long horns that protruded out of his forehead above his silver blindfold, which Taki and Sophitia quirked an eyebrow at as well as the memory that the demon that they remembered was larger, much more darker-skinned and didn't seem to need a blindfold. His head continued to hang downward as if in lamentation.

"What do you want from me now, Maiev? You're presence alone is enough to want to drive myself even further beneath the earth." The chained elf spoke in a deep, sinister and almost baleful voice. Sophitia pulled back slightly, wondering how a blindfolded person could know who a person in front of them was and not even listening to the voice to be sure. All Taki did was quirk an eyebrow at him.

Maiev merely seemed to chuckle at his blunt assertion. "You always were a feisty one Illidan. It's funny how different you are from your brother. Although it's even more amusing when you think back to how you tried to subdue me during the battle with that corrupt knight." Maiev stated with a knowing smirk. All knew that the warden was talking about Nightmare when she said "corrupt knight".

The elf named Illidan seemed to raise his head slightly as he formed a sneer. "Don't worry, dear warden, I'll get my chance soon enough to finally rid you from this planet." He turned his head slightly towards the humans' direction as he seemed to sniff. "And I, however, am not quite sure of what I would do with your little human helper Maiev." As Taki pulled back, Illidan turned his head back to a centered position.

"How did you know we were even human?" Sophitia suddenly asked to try and clear her confusion over this 'demon's' abilities. Illidan seemed to sneer as if mocking her in his head as he turned slowly away from her. He appeared to not want anything to do with a human even if it did seem like small-talk.

"You I don't really recognize, but your other human friend I remember by her scent." He spoke to the Greek with his reluctance to do so showing in the tone of his voice. He turned his head up to grin darkly at Maiev's direction. "And if you don't mind my mentioning Maiev, she did more damage to me than you did." He stated smugly as he turned his shoulder slightly so that a long jagged scar could be seen running down his back. Taki then knew that he truly was the demon from the day before. "You must be loosing your touch. I'm quite disappointed to find you going second-rate to a human." Illidan cocked his head to one side. "So much for your strong, honorable reputation, eh Maiev?" He mocked with a very amused attitude which heightened as he sensed the strong waves of Maiev's rage. He could only smile when he heard Maiev's knuckles crack at her sides.

"You know nothing, blind bastard!" Maiev shot back, her voice and throat tightening at her rage as she leaned forward sharply but a small measure.

Illidan chuckled slightly at Maiev's obvious jealousy. "Well your rival seems to know a great deal; maybe she should give you a few lessons of how to _really_ subdue a demon." He smiled but it quickly faded as he felt a metal-booted foot harshly blow the air out of his lungs and felt a throbbing sensation in his gut. He nearly fell over from the force but made himself stay in his kneeled position. He heard a shuffling of feet and a woman with a voice a bit higher than Maiev's trying to calm the warden down.

At this entire conversation, Taki just quirked an eyebrow and tried not to smile at Maiev's misfortune no matter how much she wanted to, knowing it wasn't right to do so anyway. She had gotten somewhat of a warning look from Sophitia so she made herself stop. She suddenly noticed Maiev's green eyes glaring at her while Naisha looked concernedly at her commander while stroking the back of her left shoulder. Taki tried to ignore Maiev's glare as she turned to Illidan for just two questions that confused her the most. "How did you know who Nightmare even was and why did you fight him in the first place?" She asked bluntly as she leaned towards him slightly.

Illidan seemed to grumble something underneath his breath. "Let's just say I've met Arthas before on an occasion and know what he's like. And as for the real 'how' and 'why', well, I have my ways of finding things out. That 'Nightmare' had incredibly strong evil waves emitting from him, I wanted to take care of him myself but then I noticed that you and he were already in the middle of battle so I just decided to wear him down a bit for you." He stated quickly and dully as if none of it really seemed to matter anymore.

"Well thank you for your time." Maiev stated cynically. "I'm sure all that time will pay off for you down here. I hope you always love the darkness you always seem to surround yourself in whether it is intended or not. And don't worry, I'll make sure to send your regards to Tyrande." She stated with a smirk and was met with a horrible sneer.

Illidan harshly turned his face away from her direction while keeping his sneer plastered upon his face. Maiev could clearly tell what he was thinking as she mentioned Tyrande. "You think I like the darkness so much? Well then, leave me be within it. Your voice alone is beginning to sicken me." He retorted nastily, his face still turned away.

Maiev smirked and cocked her head to one side. "Have it your way." The warden looked at the others, including the guards, briefly then turned on her heel expecting the others to follow her back to the surface. She could feel the disturbing chill of Illidan's sightless eyes upon her as she left.

Once they reached the surface, Sophitia let out a breath, glad to not be surrounded by so much eerie darkness, when she turned around to meet Taki's brown eyes she noticed that Maiev had suddenly grabbed the ninja and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"I want to settle this little quarrel between us. I want to see who the better fighter is." Maiev stated in a solid tone. Taki just rolled her eyes and sighed at Maiev's pretentiousness. "This wouldn't be a fight to the death, but only to the point when either of us is thrown out of the fighting grounds or knocked out. If you win, you can take on any demon from this world so which you desire. If I win, you'll leave _all_ the demon killing to me and will never get in my way like you did last time with Illidan." She stated each rule firmly as if she had already made them out in her head a while ago.

Sophitia sighed, she knew what Taki's answer would be and was confirmed with Taki's narrowed eyes and her agreement by saying "If it's want you want and if you really want to try and take me." Taki was always that way: competitive when it came to challenges especially when against her love of demon hunting.

Maiev only narrowed her eyes at her until they were slits. "Don't be so cocky, or your impudence will cost you dearly." She warned with a harsh, shallow tone before she turned on her heel again to Naisha, who had been waiting for her concernedly until she was able to walk back deeper into the capital with her first-in-command.

Taki seemed to study the warden's distinct movements as she left as if she thought that a last minute interpretation of her fighting movements would benefit her greatly. However, Sophitia just ran her palm over her forehead as if already stressing over Taki's acceptance. "Are you sure that was wise?" Sophitia asked concernedly, watching as Taki suddenly turned towards her with a raised eyebrow.

The taller woman had it in mind to ask in return if making an alliance with Sylvanas was wise, but kept her mouth shut. Taki's eyes squinted as she slowly walked towards her, noticing and odd, curious feeling when her eyes landed upon the Greek's aventurine ones.

Sophitia just watched as the silent ninja came towards her and gave her an odd look. Taki's eyes slowly and somewhat shakily brushed her elegantly-parted bangs out of her eyes, making her jerk back at the sudden gesture but slowly sighed and tried her best not to close her eyes but at least blink to ease them as she felt Taki's fingertips graze gently over her forehead. "Is… Is something wrong?" Sophitia asked in a voice that she tried to control despite her emotions at the moment.

Taki's eyes seemed to take more focus upon her facial features and not just her eyes. "Wha-Er-no-no. Nothing's wrong. It's just that…" She paused then seemed to double check her facial features and eyes. "I've been having a lot of dreams and visions lately… and your eyes look very…" 'familiar.' Taki thought, not wanting to say it because she figured it sounded preposterous to find something familiar about someone who she had just met perhaps a week ago. Sophitia looked at her in a curiously strange way as she cocked her head to one side, wanting to know what Taki was thinking and waited for her to speak first. "N-never mind. Perhaps it's just me." Taki finished as she backed away and crossed her arms over her stomach and looking down in a rather hesitant way as if she wasn't sure of what to do next.

Sophitia just blinked at her then sighed in a slightly depressed manner, really wanting to know what Taki was taking about with her dreams and visions. As much as it tempted her to ask, she kept her thoughts to herself and didn't press Taki any further into her introverted than she already was, or at least seemed to be. The Greek looked the side as a thought hit her. 'This may be a mean thought, but Maiev remembers how Taki and I were before the necromancer got to Taki. So perhaps Maiev will mention something during the fight if Taki becomes querulous enough.' Sophitia changed her view to the tall trees as her mind paused for a moment. 'If Taki does get hurt, I'll be there for her as always have been. Perhaps then Taki will be willing to tell me what her dreams and visions have been about. Maybe the gods, whoever they may be, have given hints about Taki's and my past relationship.' Sophitia looked up to the cloud-parted skies with hope in her eyes. 'Oh I can only hope that they have been that merciful to me as well as Taki. I don't know how much longer my heart can survive without her kiss.' While Taki wasn't looking, she closed her eyes and placed her hands softly together in her hopes that her thoughts were true.

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Thank you so much for your patience, I know the two chapters took a long while and I hope this one wasn't too long-winded. I think it was Siegfried just coming in that made the chapter longer. The fight will be one of the first things to occur in the next chapter as well as Sylvanas' explanation for her sudden disappearance; I was planning to have all of this in this chapter but it became too long so I figured I'd move it which is good because it would give me more room to write in the next chapter. Siegfried may seem a bit, well, maybe overly emotionally sensitive but I'm working on that and I'm hoping to bring out the character that he appeared to be in SC1.


	13. Secrets Wanting to be Heard

Do not own SC characters. This chapter is basically all-fight between Taki and Maiev and the reason that it is long is because of the descriptions. Little note to those willing; Taki's moves during the battle will be described but for those who aren't sure what the move looked like (if my description was a bit complex) I'll be putting the name of the move in parenthesis so you can see it for yourself in the game, which is SC1, or at least most are from it, since that is the basic time frame that it takes place :)

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Chapter 13: Secrets Wanting to be Known

Taki felt a bead of sweat from her forehead slowly and unevenly stream down the side of her face until it landed upon the edge of her mask as the blazing heat from the forge's fire brushed against her skin. Her concentration remained unbreakable as she swung the hammer she gripped in one hand and slammed it against a new creation of weapons for her coming battle, which she knew would be soon as Maiev would certainly not be patient enough to wait, plus it was getting closer to night now and Taki knew how elusive Maiev enjoys to be during a battle.

Instead, Taki would wait for a messenger of some sort from Maiev's Watchers to inform her of Maiev's readiness. She also knew that Maiev would use her deadliest weapon against her so Taki figured that it would most certainly be to her benefit if she were to make a strong weapon of her own. Her signature blades, Rekki-Maru and Mekki-Maru, she indeed trusted and would never replace them, at least not permanently but for this battle she needed a weapon with a more defensive side.

Taki let out a breath and stood back a bit to look at her work thus far since she had been shaping her daggers for nearly half the day. The weapon type was one used by all ninjas of Japan called 'Kunai' which excelled in offenses and defenses but was meant to have short reach when fighting. The blade always looked like some sort of digging tool to Taki because of its widely angled blade and slightly obnoxious thickness, but then again all that was made up for its durability during a fight.

She sighed in a way as if to gather her strength along with looking about the Orc's small forgery which she had asked to borrow from them. It was much like their many burrows only this was above ground and the majority of the building's design was flat stones instead of wood while the tusks upon their roofs were actually placed in the inside of this building as if to be used for cloak-hangers. It took her a few minutes after she first came in to notice that the ceiling was layered with brown leather as if used to guard elements like the rain.

She gazed back into the only light of the room - the fire - for a few moments before she raised the mallet over her head and struck her blade once again. She turned the blade over on the anvil then struck it again, repeating her procedure over and over until she saw fit. She soon found her mind involuntarily wandering to a certain Greek girl who was currently with Mina and Kilik since she had asked her for some privacy so that she could do what she was doing now. She closed her eyes tightly then shook her head as if trying to push the image of the younger girl from her mind.

Taki placed a palm onto a side of her forehead, her fingers tangling into her ebony fringe as she kept her eyes closed. "Why…?" The Asian began out loud before letting herself continue in her mind. 'Why can't I stop…?' She thought in desperation and confusion. 'Ever since I realized she was that girl who kept… and still is… coming into my dreams… I can't keep her out of my head.' Her eyes slowly opened to look down to her ground, she soon found herself leaning backwards onto a stone wall placed right behind her.

'That night after the battle with the Azure Knight, I remember, I woke up after having another one of those tormenting nightmares concerning her. I looked down and at the sight of Sophitia laying her head on my chest and murmuring in her sleep… I admit it startled me greatly, I remember pulling back slightly and my eyes widening with surprise… but I didn't have the heart to nudge her off of me so I just let her sleep… I think I even felt myself smiling faintly at her peaceful, content form.' Taki let her almond eyes close as the faint smile returned to just graze her lips and let out a brief chuckle from within her throat as the image of the sleeping Greek came back to her in a crisp clearness. Within seconds the amused expression upon her masked face went back to her original thoughtful one.

'But, just why is she so comfortable being around a demon huntress like me? Many of the people I see in a town that I may pass always narrow their eyes at me with suspicion or look at me with nervousness as if they thing I'm just going to start threatening random people for different reasons. Her, however… she acts as though we've… like we've met before.' Taki quirked an eyebrow in confusion. 'But how can she know me when I don't know her as greatly as she seems to know me? Why does she continue to haunt my mind during both the night and day even though I now know that she is the girl in my dreams? Why does she seem so willing to… to be by my side?'

Taki's thoughtful expression soon changed to aggravation as she growled and vigorously rubbed her fingertips against the line of her fringe due to the frustration of having all these unanswerable questions. 'How ironic; I ask her for some privacy since I can't forge properly with her eyes upon me yet she still comes to my attention whether physically or mentally.' She brushed away all her thoughts and questions about Sophitia as she forced herself to continue working on her new blades. She looked down at the blades to find the blazing fire's reflection within them and soon found herself staring at the twitching flames from their reflection as though she was mesmerized by their dance. She blinked a few times as if she was trying to focus herself once again then raised her mallet above her head then brought it down to hear the fierce clang of metal against metal.

"_Ruffle"_… "You are the demon huntress called Taki?"

Taki's eyes snapped up to see what she knew as a Night Elven archer standing in front of the scarlet curtain used as the doorway. This elf was one who seemed a bit shorter than many of the others she had seen with aqua and tinting leafy-green hair that flowed down below her shoulder blades and eyes that seemed a bit blinding but for the only fact that the Asian had been used to the darkness of the forgery. She had, like most if not all of the other Night Elves, purple symmetrical designs that looked like sharp yet cursive-like 'V's on her cheeks. Taki could tell that she was one of the youngest and had perhaps less experience in battle than most of her sister sentries. This was given away by the slightly meek look in the girl's eyes as she looked at the human and almost seemed to hold a small sense of doubt about the person she was addressing.

Taki quirked an eyebrow as she stood her back straight after leaning over the anvil and still holding her hot dagger with metal tongs. "Maiev sent you, surely?" She asked with a knowing tone.

The elf simply nodded then took a few careful steps closer as if to remain cautious of this human, although Taki had no idea what the reason was. "My mistress sent me to tell you where the fight will commence." She stated simply while Taki nodded knowingly and went back to her work to finish the final touches of her newly-birthed blades. She waved a hand for the elf to go on. "She chose and is currently waiting and preparing for your arrival to a place east of here. I will lead you there if you wish." The girl suggested plainly.

Taki condoned with a slight nod as she looked back down to shape her other thickly-shaped blade after heating it within the forge. "Since I am foreign to these lands, after all, it would be better if you led me there." She explained as she leaned closer to the blade than before and shaped the edge with a much smaller mallet. "I won't be long." The huntress stated quickly while not looking up to the woman who looked Sophitia's age or perhaps even younger.

"Will your human friends want to follow?" The lavender-skinned elf asked in a low, soft voice as she lowered her head slightly although in a somewhat tentative fashion even though she looked a bit curious yet knowing at the same time.

Taki smirked at the elf's question; of course they'd be willing to watch a fight between her and Maiev, it would be an interesting spectacle for anyone. She glanced toward the young elf who pulled a lock of her deep aqua, somewhat star-speckled hair behind her long ear, revealing a long, dangling metal earring with a small teal-colored feather at its base. "I have no doubt." She stated while she continued finishing her new Kunai blades.

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Naisha sat on one of the many small boulders of the leaf-covered area, feeling her panther brush its furry face against her hand, begging his master to pet him. She smiled sweetly as she ran her hand along his black fur, much to Moonfang's cub-like delight with a swaying tail. Naisha's smile widened at the reaction but quickly felt it fade into an almost depressed expression as the sound of a bladed weapon cutting through the air and a sharp "Ha!" from Maiev's throat caught her attention as the warden stood a small sum of feet away from her. "As much as I trust you're judgment, Maiev, are you sure you want to fight a human just for the purpose of preserving your reputation?" The younger elf asked in a soft tone as she slowly looked up to the warden who continued to warm her skills in her training.

Maiev slowly recovered her stance after her last swing. She didn't look towards Naisha but smirked nonetheless. "This isn't the first time I've fought for my reputation, Naisha. You should know that better than anyone." She asserted in a voice as soft as Naisha's was. She slowly turned to look at her sentry, hearing the thousands of scattered leaves around her as the wind brushed passed.

"Yes, I do know that quite well. But she wasn't the one who threw the insult at you, it was Illidan who compared the two of you, remember?" Naisha explained as she leaned forward slightly as if to emphasize her point and also held a tone of correction towards what Maiev seemed to think and feel.

The warden quirked an eyebrow from behind her helmet yet kept her smile as if to make it look playful. "True, but Taki also agreed to my challenge, so I can't just back out of it now like you obviously want me to. And besides, doing so would hurt my reputation even more." Maiev explained with doubtless confidence as she turned her gaze to the widest opening of the area's tall trees. The sunset could just be seen while it was still in its youth. The warden followed its gentle light while she heard her closest friend's answer in a sigh of defeat in their discourse.

"Touché." The sentry paused as she brought her attention back to Moonfang by slightly accelerating the page of her strokes against his midnight fur. "But since when does demon hunting matter to you, since he used that against you? You only dispose of people who may be a threat to our race, or even just break our Night Elven Code of Law. You don't focus on demons, do you?" Naisha asked as she cocked her head slightly to one side as if she wasn't quite sure herself.

Maiev's smirk faded as she looked away and tightened her palm straps which were used like grips for her hands. "I kill demons whenever I cross paths with one since they are against life itself anyway. You're right, it isn't my job like it is Taki's, but I kill them just to rid them of the area so that they don't harm innocents." She stated as if making a simple point while she shifted her dagger holster beneath her deep green cloak. Naisha was getting the idea that Maiev was keeping herself occupied like this just so that Maiev would avoid her gaze, although she couldn't figure out why.

"Then why did it bother you so when he said that?" Naisha asked as she still let her palm run over one side of Moonfang's face while she pressed the other side against her upper thigh.

Maiev took a breath as if the conversation was becoming more difficult for her. "It wasn't my capability of demon hunting that he mocked, but my capability of protecting our sisters at all. I know that's what he meant since he knows how much I favor preserving our races' society. And that was what made me want to hang his head by the end of his very own shackles that contain him." The extensively long-haired elf explained as calmly as she could, although a bit of harshness could be heard deep within her words. 'He also humiliated me in front of you.' She added in her head while feeling a harsh sneer coming on. She brought out her circular, bladed weapon from beneath her cloak and gazed at the blades for a moment. "I wish Tyrande would just let me kill him. I have no idea why she's doing such a foolish thing as keeping him alive." She spoke with a hidden growl in her aggravation as she leaned against one of the many tall yet loosely-filled plum-colored trees of the boulder-scattered and puddle-ridden area as she polished the curved blades.

"She probably wants to wait for Malfurion to return and be the judge for her since he and Illidan have a deeper history of their own." Naisha implied as a guess as she looked down and nearly giggled when she noticed that Moonfang's bright yellow eyes where beginning to waver in and out of focus due to the treatment Naisha was giving him.

Maiev merely rolled her eyes at the statement, knowing that it could very well be true and just replied with a "Humph." She continued to clean her blade in silence, already sick of talking about demons, Illidan and the coming battle. The battle itself she was very anxious about, she really wanted to know what this midnight-haired human had up her sleeve style-wise.

"If there's one thing I ask of you Maiev, for the battle…" Naisha spoke up in a serious yet hopeful tone while Maiev glanced at her with a raised eyebrow of curiosity. "I don't know if these human's have special abilities of their own like the Lorderon paladins have showed us, but it would be best if you didn't use those virulent daggers of yours on Taki or anything that would imbalance the battle. You don't know what Sophitia may do to you if you cheat." She finished with a playfully quirked eyebrow beneath her small, sliver-weaved and plum-colored head-plate. Maiev soon responded to with a pause, reluctant nod, and a disappointed sigh, which made Naisha chuckle within her throat. "You can be quite a child at times if you're not equipped with your toys, hm?" She added with an amused smile to match her raised eyebrow, making a very playful expression before she looked back to Moonfang.

She turned to Naisha to respond in her defense, but stopped as she found herself watching, staring at her second-in-command sentry as the sunset's light seemed to outline her fair-skinned body in the most elegant way. Her green eyes dropped from Naisha's beautiful lurid-blue ones (although they were already turned away from her) and let her own land on Moonfang's relaxed form. He looked as though he was in the most content state he'd ever been in as he slipped deeper due to Naisha's delicate charms and beauty.

Maiev's eyes narrowed slightly at the panther that seemed as though he was about to let out a loud purr. 'If a blasted beast can have Naisha's affections, why can't I?' Maiev thought as she let her gaze snap to Naisha's form and pictured her head lying in Naisha's lap while the younger elf looked down at her with the same smile she was giving the panther as she would run her fingers through Maiev's loose hair just as soothingly as she seemed to be with Moonfang's dark fur. Maiev soon found herself sneering with twinges jealousy as she peered at the panther through the corners of the eyes of her gold-rimmed helmet as if trying to be discrete so that the luminance of her green eyes wouldn't be noticed.

"Mistress…? I've brought the human you sent me for."

Maiev felt her eyes widen as the feminine voice from behind startled her. After collecting herself, the warden turned to find her newly-trained huntress standing in a very poised position as if waiting obediently for the next order. Taki stood behind her with her arms crossed and a competitively raised eyebrow, which Maiev returned along with a cocky smirk. "Thank you, Anaya. I notice you brought the _others_ as well." She mentioned as she looked over Anaya's shoulder to find Mina and Kilik waiting with eagerness and intrigue while sitting underneath a wide tree with a base that had a branchless neck. Although they would be a bit harder to notice to others considering the night's darkness was slowly approaching.

Sophitia stood close to the both of them while her eyes portrayed a strong concern and her restive state was a bit visual as she was snuck out Taki's tarnish-ridden rag and was ringing it within her palms slowly but continuously. She had no doubt in Taki's abilities as she had been dazzled by them before with bandits and rogues, but she had a very strong feeling that Maiev may be the only one who might be able to match Taki not in power but in style.

Anaya bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry, mistress. They wanted to-."

"I know, I figured as much." Maiev interrupted while letting her gaze drift over them before turning back to Anaya. "You can go back to our base and continue training, or you can watch as well, if you wish." Maiev spoke simply, not waiting for her to decide as she turned to Taki, wanting to get the battle of wits started. She took off her dagger holster and placed it next to where Naisha sat, who smirked slightly, knowing they were the ones that were tipped with poison. As she turned to face Taki and walk to the center of the boulder-scattered area, she swiftly brought out her signature weapon from beneath her cloak, drumming her fingers against its hilt anxiously. "Now, all we have to do, I figured, is to throw the opponent and whoever does that first is the victor." She explained simply, watching as Taki nodded in agreement.

"Interesting place you picked." Taki commented as she walked to what she guessed was her corner of the 'arena'. She looked up suddenly but didn't seem to turn her head while she smiled with intrigue. "And what are those? Tree huts? Probably some old children's playground?" She asked cockily as she looked back to Maiev, who sneered slightly as she glanced upwards to see a few of what looked like ruined treehouses deep within their branches.

"For your information, these were old watch towers as this very area was an old training ground for those who wished to learn agility. Archers would fire down upon trainees while they would use their senses to dodge them." Maiev informed as she gripped her hilt tighter and straightened out her back into a broad posture as if anticipating Taki's move. She smirked: an expression of icy confidence that Taki hated most about her character. "Our race is known for its agility so I hope you can keep up." She declared in a voice matching her confident expression as she lifted her ring-blade slightly.

Taki narrowed her eyes smiled beneath her mask before she broke her crossed arms as she seemed to whirl round once while stepping backwards and lifting her left hand to enclose around her shoulder Kunai blade's soft leather hilt then stopping with bent knees in her normal defense position. "I'll try my very best not to disappoint you." She replied with a cocky confidence as she felt the butt of the hilt, which was a metal loop used for better gripping the dagger as well as for the option of throwing it.

"Heh. I should hope so." Maiev held the same tone with her smirk before letting a few seconds pass then suddenly gripping her hilt even tighter and pulling it over to her other side. Without hesitation, she ran forward as she angled her ring-blade. "After all, I don't want you, 'the better huntress', to go second-rate on me!" She mocked as she slashed her loop-blade diagonally to her upper right side. She growled slightly as she found that Taki had quickly brought the shoulder Kunai blade out of its black scabbard and guarded her slash, listening to the sound of metal grinding against metal.

Taki's eyebrows furrowed with determination and focus as she forcibly pushed Maiev's blade away from her own. The Asian didn't wait for Maiev to recover to a defensive stance for her to try a leg-sweep, knowing that Maiev's ring-blade was already in front of her torso so elf could guard herself if she tried anything in that direction.

Maiev saw what Taki was about to do since she had ducked with an extended leg, so she jumped before the leg could sweep and hit her ankles. As she landed, she smiled as she knew that Taki's failed attempt would give the demon huntress the disadvantage of a delayed recover. The elf went to kick Taki right in the side of the face. Unfortunately for her, Taki noticed Maiev bracing her leg, so right as Maiev lifted her metal boot from the soft earth Taki hastily let herself fall completely to the ground, watching as the metal leg came sharply over her. She quickly rolled out of the way and soon onto her feet, back into her defensive stance with narrowed eyes that matched Maiev's.

Kilik's eyes widened at the tension the battle already showed. He leaned slightly over his Kali-Yuga which laid on his lap like Mina's Zanbatou did in her own and whispered, "Well, their agility certainly matches each other's." Mina only answered by a nod as her eyes were glued onto the battle much like Kilik's were. The dull light of the coming night illuminated them both through the thin mist-like fog that came through the forest.

It was Taki's time to attack as she ran the short distance she had and performed two kicks both with her left leg straight towards Maiev's chest. Maiev was just able to block both using the strength of both her forearms, however she wasn't able to guard her left hip dagger, which she charged by her will and made it glow to a fiery red while the blade itself became royal blue color. Taki slashed it diagonally upwards from its sheath towards Maiev's lower torso (Rapid Air Death then Mekki Maru Wind). The blade's tip slashed below Maiev's breastbone, making the warden recoil as she wrapped one arm around the light slit.

'Dugh!' Maiev sneered harshly as she looked down slightly. 'The one critical place my race doesn't wear armor!' She complained as her eyes snapped to Taki's, who's complexion showed indifference, much to Maiev's surprise; she expected the Asian to gloat over her small triumph. 'No matter, the wound she caused isn't serious in the least.' Maiev blinked as she gripped her ring-blade, she didn't want to specifically why Taki wasn't rubbing it in her face as she was still in the middle of battle with her. "Strange power you have, to make your weapon emit light like that." Maiev stated as she thought out an attack of her own.

"I'm not the only one who can do that. Can't yours do the same?" Taki asked in an almost cocky tone as she noticed that Maiev was bracing herself again, so she heightened her guard.

Maiev smirked as she pulled her ring-blade upwards slightly, bracing the arm that held its weight. "You shall have to wait and see." With that she suddenly ran forward, watching as Taki guarded her torso for whatever she was planning. However, Taki didn't realize the reason why she had made her ring blade go over Taki's body then brought it down to encircle her waist so that she couldn't run.

Taki defended by trying to punch Maiev in the stomach, however, the warden pulled her closer so that her aim was completely off then suddenly felt an armored knee go into her own abdomen, feeling her backside crush against the iron of the ring-blade as she bent forward from the impact and loss of air from her lungs.

Maiev brought her weapon back over Taki's body then swung it so that it hit the huntress's left arm near the shoulder. Taki yelped as she pulled back and grabbed her bleeding shoulder, the wound wasn't deep but it stung as it was caressed by the cool night air. She could feel a gentle throb of pain in her stomach from Maiev's iron blow.

She glanced towards Sophitia's direction; her gaze almost immediately dropped as she saw the amount of worry in her emerald eyes, and she knew it was for more reasons than one; the damage she received, why she accepted to battle Maiev in the first place, what she was going to do next, and would she win? Taki's eyes narrowed as she met Maiev's smirking green ones. 'I promise, I won't lose.' Taki thought confidently without knowing, without believing that the statement was for Sophitia, even though it indeed was.

"I would hurry up if I were you." Maiev noted as her smirk widened, making Taki's eyes narrow suspiciously.

"And why is that?" Taki asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are we on budgeted time?"

"For me, no." Maiev began to grin. "But for you… yes." Maiev could only chuckle as she saw the confusion on Taki's face. "After all, I am a Night Elf… and the night _is_ approaching."

Naisha watched from the sidelines like the other three humans along with Ayana, who chose to stay and stand by her side. Her eyes widened as she knew what Maiev meant when she said that, but her could only sigh and close her eyes. 'Don't make things too difficult for her, Maiev.'

"What are you talking abou-?" Taki stopped and her quizzical eyes widened as she noticed that the light of the moon broke through the trees and dripped onto Maiev's body.

Maiev grinned widely as she looked straight into Taki's wide eyes. "Can you see clearly in the night, human?" She didn't wait for Taki to answer as she slowly turned, letting her shadowmeld ability gently envelope her body until she was no longer visible to the human eye. Maiev's voice could be heard in a slight echoing manner. "Because the night can _clearly_ see _you_." A gentle laugh could be heard amongst the trees as Maiev finished. All was silent as the wind began to brush against the ground and fallen leaves.

'Oh great, now what?' Taki thought as her gaze quickly and cautiously swept across the grounds.

Sophitia's worry heightened even more. This wasn't fair, Taki was human and she had no abilities like these elves do, not natural abilities like the Night Elves' ability to blend completely into the night. Taki was good in listening and tracking movements, but those were with demons, who where mindless and reckless while Maiev of course wasn't and knew strategy and stealth during the daylight. Sophitia could only imagine what her stealth would be like during the night, let alone shadowmelding as well. She looked toward Naisha, who she knew held reason for when Maiev would be out of hand in certain, needed times.

Naisha had eventually caught the Greek's eyes and she could see the emotion in them and had no choice but to reply with merely an apologetic look. There was nothing she could do. She would have at least given just one hint for how Taki should go about this, but couldn't as this was an important battle to Maiev and plus her commander meant a lot to her, more than she may even realize. She knew that her warden would be upset for giving out hints to her opponent even for the reason of being fair.

She watched as Sophitia slowly looked away as if she was disappointed and almost lost, however she continued to watch as the Greek looked back up to her former love with undeniable hope and faith. Naisha sighed as she saw this; she envied how open Sophitia seemed to someone who didn't know the love that she felt for them. She wished she could be as open with Maiev about certain things as she had seemed so close to Maiev lately, at least moreso than usual. The memory of when Maiev had once vowed to her that she would protect her young lieutenant from all that would ever trespass against them suddenly flashed in her mind, making her heart soften.

She had noticed lately that she had been feeling something for her commander but couldn't admit it; she didn't want to, for it would be quite odd for a first lieutenant to be feeling this way. 'It's nothing.' She told herself as she shook her head, trying to rid herself of any more thoughts concerning such things even though her heart begged for something much more different. 'It's merely a strong friendship… it can't go any further than that.' She almost advised herself before she took a breath and looked up to Taki, who hadn't received any damage yet from her invisible foe, strangely, but she hoped that Maiev wouldn't go too far after doing what she'd just done.

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Siegfried stood at the river's grassy edge where the remnants of the burnt pyres remained and drifted through the clear current of the water. Tyrande and Jaina, who was welcomed to join them as she was curious about this new knight herself, the two stood behind the poised figure who kept his eyes onto the water which he had tossed his flower onto just a few seconds ago as a gesture of forgiveness.

"How can you stand the stench since you're standing so close?" Jaina asked the knight in near bewilderment as she grimaced at the smell wafting over them. She tried to block it by covering her nose and mouth with an edge of her long lurid-blue cloak.

Siegfried merely shrugged as he turned away from the curving stream. "After four years of having your mind plagued with darkness, you tend to become used to it." He explained dismally as he glanced towards Jaina's direction, who turned silent after he spoke, not knowing anything to reply in relation to his response.

"What are you going to do now knight? Return to your own homelands?" Tyrande asked with slight intrigue, as it was rare to actually see the former host of a malicious demon who seemed so mournful, although it was understandable.

Siegfried seemed to let out a small light although his eyes didn't seem to hold amusement as if he was still thinking about at the wrongs he had committed in just the previous night's battle alone. "What I always do, or at least try to; I'm going to bring my honor back to my name by redeeming myself." He stated as he let his eyes slowly drift to the side, into the vast woods as he rubbed his name in an almost tentative fashion. "Of course, the problem is I don't have my zweihänder; Requiem. Otherwise, I would aid you in your quest of overthrowing Arthas, he made me kill so many in several villages and I want to return the favor for making Soul Edge lust for blood." His eyes swept to Tyrande's, whose remained neutral yet focused on his words and serious eyes. "I'm not one who runs away from crimes committed. And at least from what I remember of him, the man seemed to be mad for power."

"He is." Jaina responded in a simple, soft tone that almost held a sigh as if that deeply troubled her since she avoided their gazes and shifted uncomfortably as she spoke. Siegfried blinked at her with bewilderment; it seemed as though the mere mention of his name was a tender subject for her, although for reasons he didn't know and dared not to ask, afraid of making things personal.

"So you're willing to go up the entire army of the undead just to clear and bring honor to your name?" Tyrande asked as if she was testing him on how far we was willing to go.

"Yes, not only my own, but to my father's as well." Siegfried's boyish voice seemed to drift the more that he spoke.

"Your father knows of what you've done?" Tyrande asked quickly with a quirked eyebrow of confusion, wondering why or what would make this boy's father know what he had done.

Siegfried's eyes seemed to change in emotion although it was difficult to read, as if he was recoiling in a way. He paused as he sharply looked away from the both of them. "I-I don't really want to talk about it." He stated firmly and bluntly, making Tyrande just look at him for a few moments then look away in a slight nod of acceptance.

Luckily, all were brought out of the tensions they all felt and for different reasons as a young Blood Elven knight came dashing towards them with loud sounds of his clanking, full bodied armor. He abruptly stopped in front of Jaina and huffed as he spoke. "A…a large weapon was discovered by the capitals' forest edge. We thought… _'huff'_ … it was that huge sword that 'Nightmare' demon held but it doesn't appear to have any flesh on it." The rather short in height knight spoke so quickly it was a bit difficult to gather what he was saying. "It's a bit worn, but-!"

The knight abruptly stopped as Siegfried suddenly dashed passed the three of them, heading back into the capital walls while being guided through the illuminating darkness by the lanterns that hung from the wide, swaying trees. Jaina and Tyrande soon followed, wanting to know what he was so excited about while the knight was left to give out a heavy sigh due to his reluctance of running all the way back in his heavy armor.

Jaina was the first to find him since she took the easier route and simply teleported to the spot where she had last seen Soul Edge imbedded into the ground. She looked around to find Elven onlookers from either race surrounding her, looking down at her feet until a tall boy with long blonde hair pushed through them then ran to her left of where she stood then skidded on his knees, stopping at the blade that she had just noticed was right next to her and pulled it out of the ground. It seemed a bit smaller than and not as wide as Soul Edge had been, but it was definitely made for someone of the right strength to wield. The blade had gentle curves that Siegfried was caressingly running his fingers over as the light from the moon reflected over it, revealing a few scratches and scrapes from previous battles.

Jaina looked up at his face and smiled as Siegfried had an expression on his face that looked as if he had just found his own buried treasure. "Is this Requiem?" She asked in a light tone, still holding her smile.

Siegfried didn't look away from his blade that looked and felt like an old friend to him. "Faust, actually. At least it appears to be. It was my very first blade. Perhaps since Soul Edge has been removed from me, my original blade decided to return." He stated although he sounded a bit confused, however he felt even more confused when he noticed the people around him backing away slightly. He wasn't sure why until he saw a hint of fear in their eyes as many of them seemed to be fingering their weapons, he looked down as he blinked then sighed, he knew they were acting this way because he mentioned Soul Edge. He was about to back away from Faust, thinking it may help until he felt a hand on his back and Jaina kneeling next to him with caring, reassuring eyes.

"Don't worry about them. Remember, some may not have heard that you've regained your sanity. You can prove yourself to them." She spoke in a soft voice and a sweet smile that made his heart rise and his lips form a smile in return.

Both turned as they saw Tyrande walk up to them an eye the blade that Siegfried held. "Is that your blade?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow. Siegfried only nodded, noticing that Tyrande didn't seem too pleased with the way it looked, although he didn't know why; it seemed in perfect condition to him. "Then I suggest that you have it remade if you're going to fight hordes of undead with us. The knight was right in saying that it looks worn." She commented bluntly until she noticed an archer walking up to her and seemed to be waiting patiently for Tyrande's attention.

Siegfried looked at Jaina, who's eyes seemed to hold agreement to Tyrande's words, which made him feel even more confused that so many would think that his zweihänder holds such a bad condition. "I'm not sure if the Night elves or even the Orcs would know how to remake it, but I'm guessing the Blood elves know the basic idea since they've worked more closely with humans than the other races. Plus, since they make armor for their knights, I'm sure they can make a suit for you." Jaina suggested calmly with her head cocked slightly to one side.

Siegfried just blinked at her and sighed as he looked at his original blade. Outnumbered in opinion, he reluctantly nodded and stood up, hoping that Jaina would make the arrangements with the Blood elves in creating armor and a recreation of his Faust for him since he wasn't sure if the elves would be very willing in doing it for _him_ since they most likely know his bloody history. "On one condition though." He suddenly stated as he turned to Jaina, who lifted her eyebrows as she listened. "I notice that their armor is deep red." He stated as he looked at the Blood elves' armor and garments as they stood around him. "I don't want my armor to be their colors, nor do I want it to be black." He stated simply but firmly.

Jaina looked at him through her hood and nodded understandingly, since red would remind him of blood and black would make him feel like he was Nightmare again. "Of course, I can do that." She replied softly as Siegfried gave her a thankful yet charming smile that made her blush faintly. She was about to ask why he was smiling at her like that until Tyrande suddenly raised her voice.

"She…!" The high priestess yelled in slight anger that she tried to control after her archer had informed her of something she wouldn't have permitted. She felt herself sneer as she sharply kicked Starstrider into a run towards the forest after something no one else knew besides the archer left behind to watch her priestess take off in haste.

Siegfried smirked slightly as he looked around noticing that everyone, including Jaina and himself, weren't taking the time to ask the archer what was happening. He turned to look back towards his Faust and sighed. 'I hope those elves don't alter my zweihänder too much… and I hope my new armor will be made soon; I'm starting to feel incomplete without it.' Siegfried thought as he ran a hand over his chest thoughtfully as if imagining his armor still clamped to him.

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Taki sharply turned only to feel a hard fist slam against her cheek while finding Maiev's form appear as she attacked then disappeared when she pulled back, as she did the last couple times. Taki was becoming aggravated by this, although she was happy that the armored backside of the elf's hand didn't come in contact with her yet. She was able to hear ruffles from Maiev's cloak whenever the warden seemed to move but she hated the fact that she was always late, the kunoichi had already been hit twice not counting the one she just received; the side of Maiev's ring-blade against her right side and a harsh kick to the back.

At the sound of another ruffle, Taki sharply turned again and grunted as she felt another fist slam into her stomach. She growled as she heard a very amused laugh that seemed to constantly move around her. "What's the matter, demon huntress? One would think that the majority of the demons you vanquish would be during the night. Losing your touch, are you?" Maiev edged in an echoing voice along with a dull laugh within her throat, making Taki's aggravation heighten.

"You're one to talk! I'm not the one hiding beneath the darkness for safety!" Taki retorted as she gripped both her daggers tighter as she felt her teeth grind against the pain she already felt. She whipped around as she heard another ruffle and, without hesitation, balled her right hand into a tight fist as she brought it above her head, charging her fist so that a blue-white orb that emitted small sparks of electricity. She felt her arms tighten and her teeth grind with rage as she let out a loud "Shyaaa!" and struck the orb to the ground (Ninja Cannon), hoping that Maiev would be in the area that she believed she was in. Much to her delight, she heard the invisible woman in front of her let out a yelp of surprise and quickly looked up to see the tree's leaf-filled limbs suddenly move into the tree, telling her that that was where Maiev had hit. However, her eyes furrowed as she didn't hear the grunt or feel the vibration of Maiev crashing back onto the ground.

"Oh ho!" Maiev's surprisingly amused voice was heard within the tree however she couldn't be seen. "Finally getting the hang of it, are we?" Taki could just imagine her having a wide smirk on her face for some odd reason since Taki had finally hit her. She suddenly heard a sharp ruffle and the tree's limbs making a 'spring'-like motion.

'She's coming back down.' Taki concluded only to be confirmed as she felt a sharp vibration from the ground. Taki's guard was half-way raised when she felt a metal object, which felt like the dull side of Maiev's ring-blade, smash into her chin in a upper-cut motion, making her feet lift off the ground from the force. She yelped at the throbbing sensation in her chin since her bottom jaw was crushed against her upper jaw and cringed as she took it in her palm while staggering backwards a few steps. Her eyes narrowed as she heard Maiev chuckle. "Cheap shot." She uttered as she ignored the stream of blood that fell from her lip and down her chin. She smirked as she heard Maiev's chuckling abruptly stop in response to her words.

Taki quickly and swiftly took out both her blades while sticking her middle fingers through each loop at the butt of the hilts and spinning each dagger around her fingers. She eyed the ground as she could now see footsteps as they pressed into the grass. Following them, she swung each arm left and right, opposite and not, creating graceful movements as she kept the daggers spinning around her fingers and reached out towards the invisible body (Fan Dance). She smirked triumphantly as she eventually felt her blades pierce and run against the invisible skin, she could tell that she didn't hit Maiev's armor because she didn't hear a dull scraping sound, plus she heard Maiev grunt at the quick-paced stinging sensations and when she took quick glances at her blades, she noticed blotches of blood on the tips of her daggers.

Much to her displeasure, she felt Maiev harshly knock her blades off both her fingers then winced as she felt herself being back-handed across the face along with the extra pain of metal hand-guards. She grunted as she felt a metal foot slam into her stomach and finally a burning sensation as she felt a slash across her exposed upper chest, she looked down to find that Maiev had made a thin diagonal line of blood across her entire upper chest. She sneered as she looked towards the ground, knowing that Maiev was watching her.

"Did you really not expect me to fight back?" Maiev asked cockily as she seemed to be circling Taki's still, guarded form even though the Asian knew it would be a mistake to run for her Kunai daggers because it would make her wide open to Maiev's blade.

Taki's eyes swept over the patches of grass around her until she heard a deep 'splash'-like sound, making her alert eyes snap to a rippling puddle to her left. She saw a strange hole in a puddle that revealed the mud beneath then noticed that it suddenly disappeared while its water splashed to one side. Taki smirked while quirking an eyebrow. "Did you really not expect me to be watching where you move?" In a flash after she spoke, she took a step towards the puddle so that she nearly stepped over it and thrust her fist harshly upwards, cringing as it felt as if he made contact with an invisible stone with a soft outer layer, by its hardness and the angle she hit it, she could tell that she hit the underside of Maiev's chin. She didn't hesitate as she swung her leg upwards in the opposite direction of where Maiev supposedly stood then brought it forcefully back down in the direction where she hit Maiev's chin and felt her calve hit the top of Maiev's helmet (Divine Punishment, of course minus the daggers), hearing the elf grunt in response as the force of Taki's leg nearly brought her to the ground.

"Oh ho-ho. You really are getting better. I was surprised at how long it took you to figure out that all you need to do is listen." Maiev noted as she let herself kneel on the damp ground, then lashed out her foot in a leg-sweep. Taki only had time to notice a wave go over the grass below her until she found herself knocked off the ground and landing on her back. "Now all you have to do is jump out of counter attacks then maybe you'd be a formidable fighter." The warden stated in a condescending tone, making Taki turn to where she believed Maiev was while letting a hard sneer engulf her features.

"Yes, counter attacks are useful." Taki responded before she brought herself onto her back and used her strength to turn herself on the ground so that spun her legs in the air and hit Maiev although she wasn't quite sure where but she guessed that the area was plated since she heard a 'clang'. Taki brought herself onto her feet and grinned. "I'm not sure you're watching my every move, since you are part of your 'Watchers'." Taki stated as she went into a defensive stance and listened for her opponent's next move. "You seem to be 'watching' Naisha pretty thoroughly, it's certainly reassuring to know that you live up to you're clan's name." She uttered in a dull tone so that only Maiev could hear since the others seemed to be watching them with deep intent; Mina, Kilik and even Anaya looked like they were on the edge of their seat, waiting for what was going to happen next while Naisha and Sophitia's eyes seemed to hold a concerned and hopeful intent.

Taki's eyes swept her surroundings until she pulled back as she noticed that Maiev had gone out of her shadowmelding and held a serious, almost enraged gaze that pierced daggers at Taki. "Just _what_ is that supposed to mean?" Her voice was just as dull as Taki's was but it held a venomous tone to it as she gripped her loop-blade so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Taki quirked an eyebrow at Maiev's hostile aura. "Well, I noticed when I came up here that you had trouble taking your eyes off of her. So it's pretty easy to assume-!" Taki stopped as she felt a hand wrap tightly around her neck as Maiev pulled her close so that she could whisper while her searing green eyes and hard facial expression strained in her rage.

"Listen! I've had about enough of people making comments over things they know nothing about! It's none of your business! Tyrande was in no place to judge or even _assume_ what I feel and you most certainly aren't either!" Maiev spoke so nastily that Taki pulled back in surprise at how saying anything about Naisha and her would make her snap the way she did. As the warden had spoke, she had made sure that she wouldn't give too much away about how she felt about Naisha since she didn't want anybody to know about it; she didn't want people to think that she had turned soft over her own first lieutenant. "And what about you?" The warden suddenly shot, making Taki pull back in confusion. "What about that little blonde human of yours?" Maiev's eyes widened beneath her helmet as if eager for the answer.

Taki's eyes furrowed in her confusion. "What about her?" She knew that the warden was going to make this much more difficult than it needed to be.

Maiev seemed to smirk strangely as she went back into shadowmelding and spoke in Taki's ear. "You seem to be really enjoying her company and really _want_ to have her near you." Maiev cocked her head to one side as she teased her; she was determined to find a way to make Taki say what she felt. "What's the matter, Taki? Afraid you'll end up all alone? Want someone to play 'teddy bear' for you?" She chuckled lightly. "I guess that's easy to assume for someone who seems so gullible, weak and…" Maiev thought she may be pushing it too far for saying what she was about to say but she really wanted Taki to feel what she felt. "…Self-righteous as her."

Maiev was taken off-guard as Taki harshly shoved her to one side as it was the huntress' turn to stare daggers as she balled her left fist while her right hand held her forearm; she looked like she was in some strange guarding position when in reality she was charging her fist. "_You_…" Taki shut her eyes tightly then sharply opened them again as rage overtook her system. "You know NOTHING!" Taki suddenly moved her left arm up and down sharply while her right hand held her left upper arm.

Maiev noticed that Taki's entire left arm become wrapped in static-like lightning sparks while her palm glowed a lurid-teal color as Taki brought her charged arm back. "_Begone!_" Taki screamed in her own tongue as shot her palm, which now emitted flames, in front of her and felt the heel of her palm crash against what felt like Maiev's partially-armored face although Taki didn't feel much pain due to the amount of power she charged into her fist. Her fist was tightly balled into a fist again as she tried to calm her anger only to smirk as she heard Maiev let out a yell of both surprise and pain.

The next few moments were strange for the humans to watch; a few feet in front of Taki, patches of grass suddenly rippled with soil crumbling in a wave-like motion as Maiev's yell diminished and stopped as the wave had and in front of Naisha, who was a pretty fair distance away from Taki and was looking at the invisible form in front of her with wide eyes. Her eyes grew even wider as she remembered seeing a metal object flying through the air as Maiev did and landing close to where she sat. Her eyes broke away from the invisible form that appeared still but groaning slightly while the younger elf's eyes swept across the grassy patches nearby only to find the metal object near a tree within a tall patch of grass and gleaming in the moonlight. She slowly stood up, walked over and pulled the object out of the darkness of the tall grass surrounding it, only to gasp as she realized that it was… amazingly… Maiev's helmet.

Her eyes were etched with disbelief at the power the ebony-haired human showed, she was surprised that she was the first person to actually knock Maiev's helmet off. She looked up to the Asian in front of her as she seemed in a daze while heaving slightly, most likely trying to regain lost strength. She still looked angered despite her fatigue but for reasons that she didn't know and was afraid to ask since it made her act that way. Naisha turned as she heard Maiev moving slightly. "Maiev." Naisha addressed softly and calmly.

"What?" Maiev answered in a grumble, obviously aggravated that she was struck with such force that she thought she could've blocked. Naisha didn't speak as she raised Maiev's helmet so that the warden could see it. Maiev's movements suddenly stopped still, then suddenly shuffling sounds could be heard from the humans' ears, telling them that she was most touching her face as if trying to find her own _real_ helmet. Maiev gasped as she hastened over to Naisha, took the helmet from her hands and placed it over her head again.

Taki smirked again as Maiev broke out of her shadowmelding with her hair in disarray and her helmet on awkwardly until she straightened it. "What's the matter? Afraid of someone actually seeing your face? Do you really like to be _that_ elusive?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Maiev's eyes narrowed and was about to open her mouth to send a retort until someone shouted in a chiding manner within the trees and addressing the frustrated warden. "Maiev Shadowsong!" Tyrande and her battle cat jumped through the brush of trees while the high priestess looked none too pleased at Maiev, who stubbornly lifted an eyebrow as she stood her ground. "How _dare_ you do this! And only for the sake of your image, I'm sure! How typical of you!" Tyrande scoffed harshly while Maiev sneered in return. "The fight ends now; you two look worn already anyway." The high elf announced as she turned to Taki, who had turned to gather her Kunai blades, while wincing as she felt the after-pain of flesh-wounds and bruises suddenly sting her body.

Taki ignored Maiev's retorts to Tyrande's commands by stating harshly that Tyrande had no right to tell the warden what to do. The ninja already felt someone approach her before she turned to look in the corner of her eye and recognized the edge of Sophitia's skirt. She sighed heavily however not in a content way until she the younger girl's gentle hand on her shoulder while softly addressing her name in a tone of concern. Maiev's words of the Greek girl being her 'Teddy bear' came back into her head in an unforgiving way. Not wanting the warden's words to be true, she moved to one side so that Sophitia's hand slipped off her shoulder and ignored the blonde's bewildered expression that she could feel on her back. "I'm fine, thanks." She stated with slight bluntness and unconvincingly as she turned only to glance towards the Greek hesitantly, as if to avoid Sophitia's questionable green eyes.

"I only hope I can believe you, Taki. I mean look at you; you have multiple cuts and bruises and your legs seem to be quivering." Sophitia stated worriedly as she gestured towards Taki's legs.

Taki merely blinked as if she hadn't acknowledged what Sophitia said about her legs before she actually noticed that they did feel quite weak. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she felt her legs involuntarily give-way. It was merely for a split second, however even in that time she watched herself fall forward into Sophitia's quick arms which willingly held her weight until her huntress would bring herself to her feet again. Taki's eyes darted and for two reasons; she was somehow letting herself be held by this younger girl and she guessed what the cause for her lack of energy was. "I couldn't have lost _that_ much energy from a blow as simple as the 'Pure Thunder Seal'." Taki let herself speak aloud although dully so that she thought the others wouldn't hear.

"That move may have been simple to you, but by the amount of power you put into it, it looked like the most powerful blow you could ever conjure." Taki glanced upwards while holding onto the short sleeves of Sophitia's blue shirt as she heard her speak just as softly as she had to herself. She found herself having trouble getting out of Sophitia's arms although it may have been because of how closely Sophitia was holding her. 'The light she conjured in her fist was nearly blinding, that was the first time I'd ever seen Taki really go all-out like that.' Sophitia thought in not a concerned tone, but in a proud one, although she wondered why Taki really _did_ go that far.

'I did it defend myself as well as her.' Taki suddenly concluded as she gathered the energy back into her legs so that she could actually stand. 'I think it was worth it in both ways.' She finished thoughtfully as she tentatively let her maroon eyes sweep to Sophitia's, whose eyes brightened slightly as Taki had finally met her aventurine eyes while both locked onto a soft gaze. Taki suddenly began to move back until she leaned back against a tree as the weakness of her legs was gradually coming back.

"Tired yourself out already?" Maiev suddenly noted mockingly to her now-former opponent as she noticed her condition and made sure to add a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Taki blinked her gaze away from Maiev's as she heard the elf speak. The corner of her lip twitched as she held back her sneer so that she'd look more composed before she replied. "Lost your guard so quickly against me and even when so ready to strike me down?" She stated, obviously referring to her last blow at Maiev while holding the same mocking tone that Maiev had portrayed but while slowly turning away as if to brush away the very knowledge that Maiev was standing at her far side.

Maiev tried to hold her composer through her anger like Taki had done only to have some of it break through in a facial expression as she chuckled in her throat. "Don't look so smug; if it weren't for me, you'd never realize the truth about yourself!" The warden proclaimed harshly. Her words slowly made Taki lose her positive composure as she knew that she was referring to what she declared about Sophitia and herself.

"Enough Maiev!" Tyrande shouted warningly, making Maiev's fierce eyes snap to her own. Maiev reluctantly kept her mouth shut as she turned to leave to her base of the Watchers.

She ignored the feeling of streams of blood slowly trickling down her chest; she didn't care as the tears in her skin, they were a bit deep and did sting in the cool air,but she was close to her base anyway. "You have your lucky break now, demon huntress, but be warned as it's merely temporary." Maiev cautioned while walking away, Naisha behind her with Anaya in tow.

Tyrande slowly shook her head at Maiev's pretentious stubbornness as she watched them leave. She slowly turned to Taki, who pushed herself from the tree she leaned against to make herself stand properly. "You certainly have strength to knock Maiev's helmet off like you did. I saw it as I was coming as well as the bright light that you must have created by some magic." The elder elf stated with a raised eyebrow of intrigue.

Taki laughed slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest however still visually fatigued as well as in wincingpain from the slashes she recieved from Maiev's large Chackram-like weapon. "I didn't really plan on doing that but seeing the look on Maiev's face was well worth it." She stated as she seemed to keep her eyes off of Tyrande.

The high priestess's raised eyebrow slowly lowered as she noticed that the ebony-haired human was breathing rather heavily but steadily. She could tell that Maiev had overworked her. "I'll have a burrow-root built for you for your stay since I hadn't built you one already. It'll surely be better than staying in those crowded Healing Houses." She explained generously while Taki agreed with a slight nod, not noticing that Sophitia had done the same.

"Not to be selfish," Mina started hesitantly as she pointed at Kilik and herself. "But that does include _us_, right?" She asked with an eye of hope that matched Kilik's, especially when knowing that the Orcs had grown to love 'teasing' him since they had captured him before and he'd like one morning without an orc nudging him a bit harshly in the side. Both used their staffs as leverage to pulling themselves up to their feet.

Tyrande blinked at them then slowly sighed as she looked down. At first, it hadn't included them, but since they asked and since they're from the same world… "This is going to take much more wood that I would've liked." She muttered beneath her breath before she condoned their request. She turned to the deep woods that were still blurred by the thin sheet of nightly fog and let out a strange but beautifully deep whistle as if to call out to the vast forest. In perhaps twenty seconds flat, a lurid-blue orb which actually appeared to have a will of its own, glided through the darkness of the night, up the elder elf's body and finally stopped to hover in her open, welcoming palm and seemed to wait patiently for her command.

As she spoke to the hovering orb in her mysterious Elven language, Sophitia turned towards Taki to gaze at her again like she did before, only to find Taki already peering at her until sharply turning away as Sophitia's eyes landed on her own. She could tell that Taki was starting to avoid her again, making her more than just a little unsettled. 'What did Maiev say to have her start avoiding me again?' The bewildered blonde asked herself in a soft, worried tone that really held aggravation beneath it all. 'It feels as though I'm starting from scratch again in just trying to make Taki realize what I feel for her.' Her fist balled tightly and angrily at the thought, not knowing that Taki's thoughts were filled with nothing _but_ Sophitia, her dreams and visions, and Maiev's despicable words.

Taki found it very difficult to sort her jumbled thoughts. 'Why is this bothering me? Sophitia's feelings… dreams and visions concerning her that occur night and day and yet can't find the meanings to… and Maiev seems convinced that I can't live without her near me.' Taki's eyes furrowed at the last thought as she looked down to the ground. 'Utterly preposterous! I've lived alone for almost my entire life so why would I suddenly need someone now? I happen to enjoy my isolation from people as none ever seem to understand why I do what I do.' Taki stopped as she peered towards Sophitia, who was looking away with a thoughtful expression on her face. The older woman sighed as she looked at the slightly shorter girl for a few more seconds before she looked away to go back into her thoughts. 'But _she_ seems to understand, strangely.' Her eyes darted as a thought came to her. 'Perhaps she could know the reason for her being in my dreams and why they keep reoccurring…? It would be a long-shot, surely. But perhaps it would be worth it to ask… when I'm able to.' She let her cautious eyes wander over the people around her and noticed that they were beginning to move. "Am I missing something?" Taki asked in a low tone.

Sophitia turned to her with a raised eyebrow as if wondering why she asked that question. "Tyrande's picking a spot for our … 'Burrow-root', whatever that may be." The younger girl stated as she waited for Taki to take her step to follow. As Taki hesitated, she held out a hand for Taki to take. "Will you have the energy to walk? Or…?" She waited for Taki's answer, knowing that her hand would most likely be discarded since she partially knew how Taki was at the moment.

Taki looked at her for a moment then shook her head. "I'm certain I'll be fine, I don't need help." She assured in a semi-convincing tone as she began to follow the others. Her eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment as she noticed as she passed that Sophitia's patient expression fell to one of slight disappointment.

"Well," The Greek started with a sigh as she turned back to follow to the side of Taki's footsteps. "If you ever need anything, I'll always be willing to help you. Okay?" She asked with a sweet smile of assurance as she looked towards Taki, hoping to see at least a positive expression on her face as a reply.

Taki turned her head and looked at the younger girl as if to investigate her means for saying what that. Her aventurine eyes were bright with integrity and promise, making Taki pull back slightly but not in a negative fashion as she felt a very faint smile slowly wash upon her lips. "S-sure." She answered with a slight nod, watching as Sophitia replied with a small grin as she reluctantly looked away from her demon huntress's chestnut eyes. Taki quickly looked back to follow the path made by the others. 'She _must_ know what these dreams should mean. I'll ask her… whenever we're alone. Perhaps then these torturing feelings can finally end… whatever they are.' Taki looked up as she realized something and nearly laughed; this was actually the first time that she actually _wanted_ to be alone with Sophitia. But for finding a way to ease her emotions that seemed ecstatic to her now, she was willing to hear anything that Sophitia would be willing to say.

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Hope it was alright, I thought the ending was a bit half-baked but I'm glad I got the chapter done at all. The next chapter should be pretty good. More characters will make appearances, not new ones apart from a new SC character appearing in the next chapter, but others who aren't new will be acknowledged, such as Arthas. I think I'll be starting on the next chapter of this fic before I start on the next one to 'My Way' since I'm still not quite sure of how to go about the next chap of that fic, have a few ideas but need to get more.

Don't know how you liked the fight but I hope you liked it at all. For who was going to win the battle, I constantly jumped between the two to see who would win, Maiev was first, then Taki since this _is_ a SC fic, but then I figured it would be better if the fight was temporarily stopped so that perhaps a much more vicious fight could take place and possibly in a better 'arena'. And Maiev may have seemed a little… 'flat' in the battle move-wise but I figured the Shadowmelding would make up for that, and if not, then as I said, I'll try to think up a second battle that will be a bit more vicious.

I know that this chapter took a long time to do and I'm sorry about that and I'm extremely sorry about the next thing I'm about to say, writing my chapters may take around a little less than a month to finish each because I need to watch my time with my fanfic writing as my 'Mother Dearest' thinks that fanfiction is taking my mind off of my academics, as it was notable in my report card. Of course that wouldn't faze me, but be threatened of having my beloved laptop taken away if that keeps up did.

I might be able to keep up with my update quotas of two pages per day but not sure since I used to write during my schooldays. Also my job as Lighting Crew for my school plays has finally come into action after months of waiting, although I'm not too thrilled about it.

But, for my longer time periods of updating, you should be happy to know that this fic is nearly NEVER STOPPING! Although I'm not sure about sub-stories for the fic, I know I'll think of something to keep the adventure going and various so it isn't _always_ the same and predictable for each chapter. So the chapters may be long to do but I'll try to make each chapter worth the wait for you as I hope to never let my readers down :)

AND as a side note for those who haven't looked up certain articles; SOUL CALIBUR 3 is coming out in Japanese arcades by October, so we should be getting the English version by summer of 2006. Just thought I'd give a heads-up because I'm bouncing off the walls ;P


	14. Greed for the Eerie Eye of Death and Des...

I know what you're thinking: "Finally!". I know it took me a long time, it was hard to write these pages because of my damn lighting job even though I don't really have a task besides 'help out'. I have a full week of boredom as I have to watch rehearsals/performances every day until Saturday. The other thing that was unfair was that I had completed 10 pages before I had started and the other 6-10 were hard to get to.

Well, anyway, this fic is mainly focused on Arthas and the undead while there are other scenes involving the other characters are basically "_and meanwhile…_" you know, kind of like the undead progresses since I haven't done that in a while and the aftermath of the battle for the other characters. The other reason why this took so long was because since there was so many scenes, I had to edit them just for double-checking purposes, although I may be skimming so some typos may not have been fixed

Man, I should've posted this up in the actual Warcraft ff category since there's so much involving the actual Warcraft characters, but I was afraid of how the whole shoujo-ai thing between Taki and Sophitia would've been taken. Speaking of that shoujo-ai, I'll only say that a 'good' event is going to occur in this chapter ;P

Do not own SC or Warcraft characters.

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Chapter 14: Greed for the Eerie Eye of Death and Destruction

Sylvanas and her devoted banshee hid beneath the roots of a thick tree; they guessed it was an old war burrow from possibly the Orcs when the Night Elves and Orcs were in one of their battles for expansion. Sylvanas winced as she felt Sharlindra pour a flask of thick blue liquid down her throat through her wound. The liquid clung to the flesh within her throat, feeling this, Sylvanas tried her best not to cough it back up but let it slide down and heal the ball of her throat.

"I'm glad I was able to find you, my queen. I was afraid that that warrior Taki had you cornered with her eyes." Sharlindra stated as she aided Sylvanas in her attempts to heal her throat. When Sylvanas waved a had for her to back away so that she could do it herself, she obediently went to a side of the round burrow walls with her cold hands together in front of her pale gown. She hesitated, feeling it wasn't her place, but spoke again. "I know you may not think much of that young girl, but do you believe in what she says?" The banshee asked cautiously.

Sylvanas choked slightly as she felt the liquid's gentle sting begin to fade away and her throat begin to heal. "Taki?" She chuckled. "I have no fear for that woman, only caution. Nor do I have any trust in her, how can I trust a demon huntress such as her?-"

"I don't mean her, my queen. I mean that… that golden-haired girl. Soph-Sophitia?" Sharlindra tried to pronounce the Greek's name correctly but had much trouble. "Do you trust her word?" She asked both cautiously and suspiciously as she seemed to cock her head to one side as she asked.

Silence fell upon them as Sylvanas' blood red eyes, which illuminated brightly in the dimness of the burrow, drifted over to her undead servant sister. All she could do was blink as she tried to find her own answer. The truth was, she wasn't sure herself if she could totally trust Sophitia. 'Something inside makes me want to trust her, but… something else that is much stronger wants me to keep a very firm guard against her.' Sylvanas looked down as she shifted her dark cloak and under-armor slightly before she looked up to the more-than-curious banshee.

"She is a paladin, a sentinel of her gods, so she is one to keep a close eye on. I've seen many human paladins and all wouldn't take a second thought to killing one like me." The undead elf stated firmly then looked back down again as an image of the Greek came into her mind. "The only mind-altering thing about her… is that she's willing to help those who are suffering, suffering like me. The only mind-altering thing about her... is the softness in her amazonite eyes. I can never place a finger on what she's feeling. She almost seems as if she has an elusive mind." Sylvanas turned and kept her eyes firmly, unwaveringly upon her banshee's as she stood herself straight. "I will keep a very close eye on her. I don't trust her. I don't trust anyone, apart from you of course. But she is one that I will survey to the very last speck of her being when I'm in her presence." Sylvanas' gaze softened as she saw slight worry in her undead sister's bloodshot eyes. "Do not fear of my being, Sharlindra. Even if she ever does try something with that lover of hers, I'm not going anywhere and she will not succeed over me. I'm stuck on the earth's soil for eternity." She smiled faintly but reassuringly as she spoke her last sentence.

Sharlindra smiled back in the same fashion and kept her eyes on her banshee queen as she lowered her head slightly as if to nod in agreement. "I trust your word, my queen. I just don't want you to do anything foolish because of that girl's influence." She stated but made sure to show a hint of warning in it.

Sylvanas looked at her for a moment. "That girl may have promised to bring back my humanity, but that I do not believe at all. My humanity is gone so there would be no real reason to have any need to trust her. I will _not_ do anything foolish, I assure you. This is all for the assassination of Arthas and nothing more. I will _not_ be duped into falling into anyone's hands so don't worry yourself, Sharlindra." She stated in a very firm voice, having no doubts in what she knew and believed about Sophitia.

Sharlindra obediently bowed her head to her queen in a form of an apology, her white wavy hair spreading astray as she did so. "I beg your pardon, my queen. I do not mean to provoke you or question your strategies. I merely have caution over your well-being as well as your reputation." She stated in a low but strong tone so that she'd make sure that Sylvanas would understand.

Sylvanas softly waved a pale hand for the banshee to lift her head. "It is understandable Sharlindra for you to think such things, and… and I thank you for your concern. But I believe in my skills and strategies for this person so you need not worry." She watched as the banshee slowly brought her head up. She walked over to a part of the tree's roots, took out a dagger and cut through a few branches, gathering them for the preparation of arrow-making even though it did include some dark magic to complete them. "I will ask Sophitia of her possible arrangements to find Soul Edge, I haven't been told of what their waiting for but I choose not to stick my head out of the trees just yet since a Night Elf may spot me. I will try and contact Sophitia eventually in her head." She informed as she began to carve out the basic shape of the arrow with a smaller dagger.

Sharlindra just observed her and sighed. She still had some doubts but quickly brushed them away as she wanted to remain faithful to her independent leader and queen.

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Arthas' lips pressed together in agitation and anxiousness as he strummed his cold fingers against the arm of his 'throne' within his main quarters. His gaze swept across the room, from strategy tables to the dark morning skies then finally let his impatient expression focused on the bronze skull-shaped doorknob as he waited for it to open, hearing what felt like an echo of the constant drumming of his fingertips against the arm of his chair. The death knight felt like he was going to explode due to his impatience in waiting for his Lich's report until his living skeleton of an advisor finally burst into the room, clenching his skin-less knuckles restively.

Kel'Thuzad's red-orbed eyes locked onto Arthas' chillingly furrowed ones as he prepared himself. "The Azure Knight has been seen by no one in the entire base. Not one! What foolish thing could he have done to suddenly leave the base without our knowledge! And with Sylvanas missing as well-!"

"Do not trouble yourself with the whereabouts of Sylvanas! She is a traitor!" Arthas interrupted bluntly as he leaned towards the lich. His lip curled almost condescendingly as he noticed Kel'Thuzad's bewildered look as he called her a 'traitor'. "Nightmare has obviously been tricked, three guesses who." He stated simply as she leaned back into his chair while folding his arms over his chest as he looked down to the coal-black floor.

Kel'Thuzad's eyebrows furrowed quizzically. "She wouldn't be so foolish as to do a thing like that; she wouldn't have the resources to lure him away. How would she anyway? She's a second-rate authority compared to him." The lich explained although still state of uncertainty as Arthas' eyes snapped to its own again.

"That is one that I cannot answer at this point. She must've found out something about him that we haven't." Arthas coolly rose from his seat as he strode passed the lich and into the corridor, knowing that his advisor would be following. "But, no matter-"

"'No matter'?" Kel'Thuzad retorted incredulously as it continued to follow the Dark Knight out of his Black Citadel and through the decaying grounds. "Nightmare was the source to our expansion! He is known to be the bringer of death and destruction within the lands of his own. Valiant warriors who spend years mastering their skills just to possess the sword ended up to be possessed by _it_!" It expressed exasperatedly as it realized that they were heading towards their Temple of the Damned, a rather large and structure where only spellcasters such as their necromancers learned their black magic and dark skills. Four bones the shape of tusks only five times their size came out of the ground, two at each end of the drape-like doorway which had a levitating, large fang-bearing skull at the very top of the structure. Kel'Thuzad stood himself straight as he followed the knight inside.

Arthas turned to look at the lich, completely unfazed by what it had just mentioned about Nightmare. "If I may correct you, lich; Nightmare isn't the one known for destruction and corruption, but rather his blade." He stated in an undoubtedly firm tone, not caring that his snowy-white hair fell around his eyes as he leaned towards the floating skeleton with its black and purple robes rippling at its feet. "Nightmare is merely the host. All I have to do to find him; the very blade he carries that, much like mine, pulses with evil energy that would make a blind man want to commit suicide. A blade such as that shouldn't be too difficult to find when we have our spellmaster of necromancers to track his pulsing aura." He proclaimed simply as he stepped inside to meet the 'spellmaster' in the very back of the dark room which held bones and skulls, both human and beast-like, upon the black stone walls.

Several tables stood around the room as newly summoned necromancers stood by them, perfecting their demonic magics using one of the many black or brown leather-bounded books with skulls, demons or hex signs on the covers. Arthas ignored them all as he strode up to the back room, opening up the door that was also etched with the symbol representing the worst of all fabled demons. The elderly supervisor and master of the temple, Rak Coldskull, stood at the side of the blood-decorated room clearly made to be the perfect place for spell-casting of any type:

four tall candle sticks were the only things to bring light into the room although the darkness still swallowed the walls, stacks of thick books laid at the left side of the room along with a single bookstand in front of them and a used silver cauldron before that, jars of animal/beast parts/blood were in shelves toward the opposite of where the books stood. Rak, who had stood in front of the bookstand and flipped through a book's pages, turned at the footsteps of the knight's metal boots, making his richly-embroidered robes sweep over the dusty concrete floor.

"My Lord, you wish for my aid?" The keeper of the temple smirked knowingly beneath his long beard as he turned to let his glowing purple eyes land on the eager icy blue ones of his master, waiting to hear the requirements of his bidding.

Arthas suspiciously looked over her armored shoulder, making sure that nobody besides Kel'Thuzad and Rak were within earshot. Slightly satisfied, he leaned towards Rak and spoke in a low tone. "Nightmare has vanished from our grounds." Arthas had expected the surprised look that the spellmaster gave him along with furrowed eyebrows of agitation from the outrageous news. "I don't care for the host, I just need you to find Soul Edge with your magics." Rak's glowing green eyes portrayed uncertainty of the task and was about to speak until Arthas interrupted with a nasty sneer. "I don't give a damn how you do it, just find the demon!" He ordered through gritted teeth. 'What in Hell is so damn difficult about a simple order!' The Scourge leader wondered impudently.

The head necromancer's eyes inwardly narrowed at his leader's tone but nodded obediently. "Certainly sir." He strode over to the shelves with his grotesquely-crafted staff in hand as it held the skull of a cleaved Lightbringer of the Human Alliance at the head of the shaft. Dipping his fingers into one of the jars of demon's blood, he spread it over the skull until the majority of the bone was covered then walked over to stand at the back of the room. Arthas' eyes followed until he noticed that the dark illusionist had positioned himself within the center of a circle made by small runes. Rak faced the front of the room with his posture perfectly straight, took a breath then brought his staff to stand in front of him, holding it with two hands as the eyes of the skull stared straight into his own.

His eyes strained as he focused on the skull, staring into it to the point where the rest of the room seemed to have waves of complete darkness cascading over its walls. When it seemed that every object apart from the lifeless, blood-painted skull was blanketed by eerie darkness, he gripped his staff tighter as he summoned the minions in a Latin tongue. _"Demons, who serve thy darkness in which thou dwell, succumb to thy master! Creep from thy dark shadows and crevices of damnation and share with me the path of corruption from the great evil-'Soul Edge'. Thou art to search for the foreign demon and with its locality, may retrieve it and soon drench our hands, and the world with the blood of the living."_

The tone of pure eagerness that the spellmaster held surely spurred the dark spirits on as the jaw of the slain paladin eased its way open. The skull seemed to let out a frosty breath which slowly wafted its way around his dark green eyes, making them widen then soon freeze into place. He watched as dull images passed his eyes, so he waited until he was given the information he bid them to find.

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The ceaseless roaring of a high waterfall and an abrupt ruffle of leaves nearby brought Maiev into her wakefulness after sleeping against one of the tall, moderately ruined pillars of a marble-floored structure which was used as an entranceway into the forest dwellings of the Watchers. The waterfall, Maiev remembered, stood right in front of the plum color-roofed entranceway as it made the pathway cut off into a fork which eventually met again in the center of her sentry-guarded base.

She peered to the corner of her eye as she heard another abrupt ruffle of leaves only to find one of her leaf-bearded, yellow-eyed, branch-bodied and metal guard-bearing Ancient Protectors while it stood a small distance away. It threw its long arms into the air in complete exasperation as it tried to rid itself from the pesky foreign birds that tried to nest within its mossy leaves.

Maiev merely grumbled as she rolled her eyes closed and shifted her position while crossing her arms over her chest; she was still in a ranting mood after Tyrande interrupted her. She shut her eyes tightly only to slowly open softly as she noticed that the sound of the roaring falls was being dulled by the beautiful humming of a familiar voice above her. Her green eyes darted as she realized that she was laying against that same someone with her head being pillowed by their chest.

She was about to hasten to her feet when she felt soft fingers trail from her shoulder down to her forearm. The warden wanted to wait for the second stroke but felt immature for just letting this person continue. She lifted herself from the woman's light embrace to look at her, soon finding her breath caught in her throat as no-other-than Naisha looked up at her with a sweet smile while the morning light's cool colors enhanced the younger elf's features.

"Strange place to sleep even when inside the walls of the Watchers, Maiev." Naisha commented as she leaned against the pillar that she had found her Warden leaning against in the dead of night.

Maiev still had trouble finding words as she just looked down at her first lieutenant who raised her eyebrows at her from beneath her head-plate. "Well, I just wanted to let some of my anger out after what Tyrande did." She stated simply as she straightened her posture.

Naisha nodded as she looked down while lifting herself to her feet. "So I noticed after I found out that you weren't in your quarters when I came to see how you were. I knew that you wouldn't rest yourself just immediately like you should've. You're much too stubborn to do something like that, hm?" She grinned as she responded by a smirk that couldn't be helped.

"Yes, and you're just as stubborn to never let me alone." Maiev replied playfully as she leaned towards the shorter girl with her arms crossed. "Speaking of never letting me alone, are you sure it was wise as a hand-chosen first lieutenant to not keep watch over the huntresses and archers that I've placed under you?" She raised an eyebrow as if testing Naisha of her proper duties.

Naisha merely held in her smile as she held her hands behind her back and let her gaze drop to her feet as if being interviewed by her higher rank. "You seem to not know me as well as you may like to think, mistress. I checked within all our Ancients of War and Lore and made sure that all the warriors placed under my responsibility were in their proper places, as I had promised when I was appointed my rank." She stated confidently as she raised her eyes to meet the pleased ones that Maiev portrayed.

"I knew I chose you for a reason." Maiev stated in a rather deep tone that matched her satisfied eyes.

Naisha blushed slightly as she looked away and bit her lower lip slightly before she looked back up to see Maiev adjusting her helmet for a split second. The younger woman couldn't help but walk up and wrap her hands around the warden's cold, gold-rimmed, hawk-like helmet.

Maiev's eyes widened as she felt Naisha slowly lift her helmet from her head. "Naisha…!" The warden clasped her hands onto the soft hands at the sides of her helmet. She made her pull it back down as she quickly glanced to her sides to check for passerby's. Naisha looked into her green orbs in bewilderment.

"No one's around, Maiev. Remember, I've seen you with your helmet off before." The slightly shorter elf assured in a soft voice as she kept her lavender hands beneath Maiev's.

The warden looked at her for a moment, still unsure, then let her gaze drop to the ground as she reluctantly succumbed to Naisha's wishes. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt her helmet being lifted off and pulled her long ears carefully out of the openings as well as her long aqua hair through the back of the helmet however still keeping it loosely tied as it still shimmered in the morning light.

Naisha watched the warden's wide bangs that dropped no more than an inch below her chin, framing her charmingly beautiful yet sophisticatedly determined complexion. The part of her that the fearless warden didn't want to reveal became noticed by Naisha; a long, quite jaggedly-edged, scar-like and deep-purple to black elven-born design crossed over her left eye and was at a certain angle where it could pass over and behind her cheekbone so her helmet could just be able to conceal it. The thing that Naisha knew that Maiev thought was odd about this feature was that it didn't have a symmetrical twin, unlike the rest of their elven race.

Naisha noticed Maiev looking a bit tentative, a rare thing for any person to see, as she let Naisha look at her face. The warden's seemly yet color-enhanced eyes looked down then seemed to hold an expression on slight amusement. "It's funny that you say that you've seen me with my helmet off, yet when you _did_ see me you saw more than just my _defect_, as I was also more naked than not at the same time." She noted as she raised her long eyebrows and tried to keep her smirk within.

The now-blushing younger elf's mouth dropped open slightly; shocked that she brought that memory up. She quickly hooked the helmet beneath her arm while she pointed her finger in emphasis for her explanation. "Firstly, I didn't know that you'd be bathing in our water gardens and so late at night. Nor did I think that it was even _you_ at first since I've never seen you with your hair completely down." Naisha sounded almost exasperated as she really wanted to get her point across to the woman who seemed to be mildly accepting it. "And secondly," She sighed as she brought her finger back down and softened her voice. "Stop calling your elf-emblem a 'defect'. Just because you believe you're the only one to have an imbalanced emblem it doesn't mean you have to say that about it." She assured in a confident tone.

"_Ash del kano-nei._" Maiev spoke softly as she took her helmet back into her arms semi-hidden beneath her long cloak. She looked to the side as if reluctant to look into Naisha's eyes that reflected the color of the moonlight while guessing that she was about to speak against her elven-tongued statement of 'If you believe so.'. "I don't think even Tyrande's seen it, you're the first and only that I allow to see it." She rubbed her nape with her palm almost tentatively then hid a sneer. "It must be her elf-emblem of wings that makes her so self-absorbent." She stated in a harsh but deep tone as she let her hand slip from her nape down her side.

Naisha sighed. "You shouldn't say things like that about her. She may not have much power over you since you're a warden, but she is one of the few High Priestesses of Ashenvale." She stated in a soft yet cautious tone.

Maiev seemed to roll her eyes before she felt it was time to slip her helmet back on, concealing her half elf-emblem. "Yes well, knowing that I just wish she stayed out of my affairs."

"She only stopped your fight with Taki though, hasn't she?" Naisha asked as she took a step towards the slightly taller elf with a slightly bewildered to curious look on her face.

Maiev's eyes darted slightly as Naisha came closer. "Well, yes, but she also…" She stopped as she didn't want to blurt out her real feelings for the woman before her. She almost wanted to push herself into saying it just to get it out but couldn't find the courage to. Her eyes widened as she notice that her fingers had slipped up to idly brush through Naisha's long, soft hair that just reached the small of her back.

Although Naisha appeared to be willingly accepting her strokes as if it felt like a loving older sister comforting the younger troubled sister, Maiev still made herself hastily pull her hand back. "N-nevermind." The warden emotionlessly turned to head back into the walls of the Watchers. "You should go back to make sure that you're archers are training as they should. Thank you for checking on me and staying with me for the night, Naisha." She finished softly as she soundlessly made her way back to her quarters, making sure not to look back no matter what Naisha's face portrayed; it would only make her want to feel her hair for a much longer period.

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Taki groaned as she shifted her position in the fur-covered bed that was part of the Burrow-root that Tyrande had made for them only a day ago. It was a strange structure for housing but it was certainly adequate, and Sophitia believed so as well since it reminded her of the shelter given to her while she was in Dalaran. The only difference was that this was had three or four times more floor space than her other one had been; it had merely a main room and three bedrooms. All the residents of the burrow were surprised at how a small orb that was no bigger than a human head could create such a thing. It was beneath a large willow tree as its roots coiled and twisted along the 'ceiling' with newly-sprouting leaves along it, making it almost look like some kind of mural at least when you squint your eyes.

Taki winced as she felt another wave of throbs in certain areas of her body. It wasn't until the middle of the night that the aches and stings that Maiev gave her suddenly hit her all at once. The huntress grumbled restlessly as she couldn't sleep since the pains had hit her, and of course, as always, she was in the middle of another dream when it occurred.

'And what a strange dream it was,' Taki commented as she pulled the deer fur-blanket higher over her shoulders. She wanted to kick herself for not asking Sophitia about the dreams the night before; she just remembered feeling very passive about the idea suddenly and didn't have the nerve to ask. 'Cruel that these dreams are to never stop yet end the same way, I must ask Sophitia about these dreams.' She took in a deep breath as if to prepare herself then sat herself up slightly despite the pain of her bruises and turned to the bed next to her where Sophitia slept on the opposite side of the tall, vine-coiled and fruit bowl-bearing night stand, only to find it vacant with ruffled covers while the dawn's dull light highlighted the ripples of the tossed furs through the window above the bed.

Taki's eyebrows furrowed quizzically at her absence until she noticed the golden-haired Greek pass through the arch-shaped doorway that led to the main room to get in and out of the burrow. Taki noticed that she was holding two off-white in her hands; one was damp unlike the other. "Finally awake?" Sophitia asked with a sweet smile and a raised eyebrow, which Taki returned but not for the reason of being cheery like the younger girl appeared to be.

"Actually, I've been awake for a while, I just never noticed you leaving." Taki shifted almost uncomfortably as the Greek came to sit on the side of her cot-like bed onto the white-edged fawn-colored furs. She placed the dry towel on the edge of the nightstand while wrapping the other around her finger as she rested her hand on Taki's tense shoulder and gently pushed her down. The older woman could only watch as Sophitia slowly pulled the blanket off of her and unclamped the pins of her body suit. Taki could feel her heart speed up as she pulled back while placing a hand over her nearly-exposed torso. "What, may I ask, are you doing?" Taki asked as she felt the tension in her body rise. She knew that this wasn't the first time that she witnessed Sophitia do this, but this _was_ the first time that Sophitia would see at least her near-bare front.

Sophitia merely blinked at her as if confused then smiled almost charmingly. "In case you haven't noticed, you have bruises and cuts all over you. I would think that it would be to your advantage to have me help you heal them." She answered with a quirked eyebrow as if to make herself look playfully cocky.

Sophitia didn't know what Taki was so worried about as she begun her task; the Asian's white torso wraps circled around to cover her breasts so all that was exposed was her rather well-sculpted abdomen and upper breast bone. Although, Sophitia still managed to blush as she gazed upon what was being revealed to her nonetheless. She spotted the bloody scars on her upper chest as well as the rather large black-blue bruise on her stomach and gently ran the rag over the wounds that Taki tried to pretend wasn't there due to her pride. She noticed the woman below her jump at the contact so she automatically slowed her pace along the beautiful ivory skin, watching as the damp rag collected the blood.

'Ask her now while you have the chance!' Taki heard her mind whisper loudly. The huntress' eyes darted beneath her closed eyes, sighed then snapped open her eyes to meet Sophitia's, who looked at her kindly with a patient expression on her face. 'Alright.' She started before she forced herself to bring out the words. "Sophitia, I've been having these dreams about you." Taki spoke rather quickly, it was almost difficult for Sophitia to understand but she caught it all.

The Greek's eyes shot to Taki's with a look of honest intrigue. "Oh?" She was now genuinely curious about this. Her eyes swept to the skies through the window and the long, dangling stems of the tree as if searching for someone or something within the clouds. 'Could my Gods have…?'

"In some of these dreams, I don't know you and yet in others I do." Taki interrupted Sophitia's train of thought, making her green eyes fall back onto her own. Taki watched as her gaze softened before she slowly turned away. Her maroon eyes widened. 'She does know something! Her eyes say it all!' She nearly sat herself straight up but yelped as the bruise on her stomach forced her back down. Sophitia saw her action in the corner of her eye then immediately came towards her to ease her back down. She couldn't help but look into Taki's deep brown eyes as she did so while Taki seemed to do the same to her own.

Sophitia slowly eased herself back up, mouth shut, not knowing how to respond until Taki continued. "By the end of these dreams I always seem to deeply care for you. I would say that it would just be a dream and nothing else, but these dreams just don't stop. Each shows something different but they all show us forming a close relationship." By this time, Sophitia had turned away with hands steepling their fingers together while raised to her chin as if in the middle of a prayer. She tried to think of something to ease Taki's mind, but the only idea that came to her in a tense, almost pleading sense was to tell her the truth about how they used to be.

"Taki, there's…" Sophitia tried to figure out what she wanted to say as she kept her eyes away from the person she so desperately wanted to hold at that moment. "There's something that I've wanted to tell you for the longest time now… but I was always afraid that you'd turn your back on me and not let us be the way we used to be." The younger girl soft in the softest tone her voice would let her conduct as if she was actually _afraid_ of Taki hearing her as she kept her eyes off of the older woman, fearing what her eyes may show in response to her riddling words.

Taki just kept her eyes locked onto the face turned away from her that had the morning light outlining her features. 'The way _we used_ to be…' Sophitia's words echoed once in her head. "Could…" Sophitia turned back as she heard Taki continue with a questionable look on her face as if a thought that came into her head suddenly brought her to some realization. "Could I have known you… met you… before?" The older woman's voice fell deep as she spoke while keeping her eyes on Sophitia, hoping to see a shred of certainty from the Greek as a response.

Taki's eyes widened as she noticed that the bright green eyes staring down at her were beginning to cloud up with moisture. Her eyes widened even more as the younger girl above her merely blinked then slowly nodded her head before she looked back down to the floor as if at as much of a loss for words as Taki was. "H-how close were we?" Taki asked in a stammering voice of inner surprise at the response she thought she was prepared for but found out that she really wasn't in reality.

Sophitia swallowed the lump in her throat before she answered softly. "About as close as two people can possibly get, maybe even closer." She knew that that answer wasn't going to be enough as she noticed a hint of curiosity in Taki's eyes as she peered from the corner of her own.

"You mean… like just strong friends?" Taki asked with a lifted eyebrow as she raised herself to lean onto her elbows. She tried not to make her voice sound hopeful just in case of what Sophitia might believe if she had sounded that way.

Sophitia could feel her hands wringing the edges of the moist towel. She took a deep breath to try and calm her fearing heart. "More like…" Sophitia turned to look Taki right in the eye but in a soft fashion. "More like lovers." What happened in the next few seconds was what Sophitia feared; complete, utter silence which tore at the both of them, only the dull rustling of the leaves through the wind from the tree above them was the only thing that eased it momentarily.

Taki could only stare back into Sophitia's nervous green eyes as she waited for her response. All Taki was able to do was lose feeling in her elbow and fall back onto the bed and stare at the ceiling. 'L… Lovers…?' All of Taki's train of thought stopped at that word while her eyes widened. "I always thought that something, some part of my life had been missing." Taki said out loud, making Sophitia give a faint smile, believing it was a positive response. "But that is impossible." The huntress breathed simply as she turned to look towards the direction opposite of the Greek's while running a hand through her ebony fringe as if still trying to sort the whole idea in her head.

Sophitia's smile immediately faded as tears threatened to cloud her vision again; her heart had shattered as she heard Taki say the word she never believed; 'impossible'. She leaned over Taki, taking her shoulders in her palms as if to hold her down as her hair fell forward over her own shoulders to brush against Taki's neck. "Impossible?" Sophitia tried her best to calm her self as well as her shaky voice and semi-furrowed eyebrows. "How is love between us impossible?"

"You don't understand-" Taki started in a much softer tone than Sophitia had portrayed, trying to explain her comfort in being alone and what Maiev had said about her habits. However she was abruptly cut off again by the Greek's cracking voice.

"How can I not understand? I'm the only one you've ever let near you. I remember that the first time we met and you stayed in your temple all alone until you met me! I know that now you're afraid of getting yourself hurt if you put too much trust in one person and I can understand that," Sophitia took both Taki's hands into her own and rested them against her chest in an almost desperate as the tears begun to stream down her face. Taki just stayed silent as she listened. "But there is such a thing as breaking away from your traditional chains once and a while! Let me love you and maybe, hopefully you can love me as well and we can start where we had left off." Sophitia found that the more she had spoken, the harder her tears became to control as she waited for Taki's answer.

Taki's eyes widened slightly. 'Breaking away from your chains once and a while…' She remembered those words. The girl who no doubt was Sophitia except a much younger version had said that to her in one of her dreams, and that was what made her play with the girl in the first place even though she basically refused to at first. Taki looked down as she remembered that in the end, she never wanted to let her new golden-haired friend go. 'For this case, all my head wants me to do is turn away in a rejection towards Sophitia, but I… I don't have the heart to do so, not with those eyes.' The Asian thought calmly as she lifted her gaze back to Sophitia's hopeful yet hurt eyes that now seemed to have a hint of loss and depression in them due to the amount of time it was taking Taki to answer her.

The older woman took a deep breath, noticing that Sophitia's eyes focused on her even more since she knew she was about to say something. "This is all new to me, I don't know if I'll be any good at it and I fear others using our relationship against us." Taki paused as she kept her calm yet serious eyes on Sophitia's. "But, if what you said about us in the past is true and you did spend your time with a demon huntress like me and yet not had ourselves in some kind of trouble because of what I do." Taki looked down, as if to continue debating whether her decision was the right one. "I will try to break from my chains as long as you assist me in doing so." Her eyes swept up to now wide green ones that looked even more hopeful than before. "I don't know if I can love you as much or as easily as I may have appeared to you the first time like you implied and so fondly, though perhaps I can try."

At the sight of the considerate softness in Taki's eyes as she had finished, Sophitia tears of sadness turned to joy. She couldn't help but fling her arms around the taller woman in a tight and warm embrace as she tried to hold back her flow of tears, but found that she couldn't. 'I know that she said that she would _try_ to love me and I believe her, she isn't the type to go back on her word since she's never done so before.' The Greek thought quickly before she answered. "Believe me, what I said about us is very true and I'm not afraid to admit it because I don't want it to stop. And it's not like I expect you to just suddenly agree to love me, I know it takes more time. But if you're willing to love me, then I'm willing to wait as long as possible." The blonde assured positively as she kept her face pressed to Taki's chest, admiring the gentle thumping beneath it.

"You are certainly a devoted one aren't you?" Taki remarked with a smirk, although she was trying to ignore the stinging sensation brought on by Sophitia's skin and clothes against her wounds.

Sophitia seemed to laugh within her throat as she tilted her head slightly against Taki's chest. "You have no idea. And what can I say? I'm just… featherbrained when it comes to my love for you." The younger girl wanted so badly to kiss the Asian huntress right now, to feel the gentle warmth of her soft lips again, but she knew that it wouldn't help things for having Taki willingly fall for her. She felt the Asian become tense, surely not exactly knowing what to do since this kind of contact seemed so new to her. All this Sophitia understood so she reluctantly released her former love which she hoped wouldn't bear the name 'former' any longer.

When she looked back up she noticed that Taki had just ceased a wincing expression then soon remembered that her huntress _still_ had her wounds. She quickly apologized for her mindless inconsideration of the woman's condition then falteringly went back to her original task with the moist towel, not caring that she had some of the older woman's blood on her shirt. She kept glancing towards Taki almost like laying eyes on her became an addiction until the Greek noticed that the Asian was openly staring at her thoughtfully. Sophitia stopped her cleansing momentarily to return Taki's stare with a sweet smile as if already excited. "Is something wrong?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow while keeping her smile.

Taki merely shrugged as she looked away to the window that was shaped like the door. "Some of the dreams I have about you," She paused as if wondering if what she was about to say sounded silly. "Concern you in a strange feline-like form. I don't know what cats have to do with you, but you looked like some kind of half-beast." She blinked as the image came back into her head, shrugged again, then closed her eyes as she settled into her leaf and feather-filled mattress that was just able to fit the two of them in. "My mind may have just been playing tricks on me, because I have no idea how or why you'd turn into such a thing." She stated simply as if to just brush the thought to her side.

Sophitia's eyes darted almost worriedly along Taki's relaxed features before she forced herself to continue cleansing. 'Half-beast? I turned into that when Taki reluctantly allowed me to fight with her against those… whatever they were… 'Bastites'…?' She suddenly became very nervous as she remembered this but tried to sound reassuring as she made herself respond. "Of-of course, that would be impossible." She stammered as she went back into her thoughts. 'If Taki ever finds that out about me, she'll surely think I was a demon and not want to have anything to do with me.'

Her heart began to race before she shook her head as if to force the thought away before she tried to change the subject. The Greek gradually smiled as a thought came to her. "Taki?" She waited until the ebony-haired woman popped an eye open in response. "Since you're willing to trust me like this, could you perhaps…?" Stopping but with a cute smile, she slowly lowered herself slightly over Taki, who opened both eyes in surprise at her action. "Could you, either now, later or even someday, take off your mask? Please?" She made her voice sound desperate as she really wanted that to happen anyway.

Taki blinked in surprise at the question then slowly relaxed as she let a smirk form over her covered lips. "Perhaps." Was all she could say in a playful tone (much to her own surprise) and nearly sniggered at Sophitia's huff of disappointment. The younger girl continued to tend to the bruises and wounds while a playful smirk of her own grazed her lips which quickly turned into a smile that felt so pleasant on her face, knowing that she would have Taki in her arms and herself in the Asians like they had done so freely and fondly before.

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After hours that seemed like minutes of trudging around the inner walls of the capital, taking in such sights he had long since seen, Siegfried was finally informed by Jaina that the Blood elf workers were ready to take his measurements for his armor. He followed the sorceress to the Blood elves' Blacksmith shop within the portion of the forest that was granted to them by Tyrande (of course under the condition that if they were going to take wood from Ashenvale's forest, they would have to consult her about it before they do anything since that _was_ the beloved trees that belonged to her race).

Not five seconds after Jaina announced his arrival into the armory that looked no different than any other building structured by humans, a male elf only over half the knight's own height seemed to hastily come towards him with not so much as a glance towards his face. Two other taller elves that seemed much more domineering than the other next to him stood in the back corner of the room, arms crossed, they must obviously be the actual smiths, so Siegfried figured.

The blond worker elf flipped out a long, thin strap and threw it snugly around his waist and held it there for three seconds before moving to his breastbone then taking in the lengths and widths of his limbs. Siegfried could only stand in place as the elf measurer and calculator kept circling around him and throwing the strap around each limb while making mental notes.

As Jaina watched, she slowly placed a hand over her face. 'This is… kind of embarrassing.' She concluded bluntly as she peered through her parted fingers only to see the 4 ft. elf silently 'request' (which was really a harsh tap or two on the limb or muscle) for Siegfried to lift his hand so that he could remember the size for his gauntlets. 'They're treating him as if trying to train a deaf and/or blind dog or something!' She quirked an eyebrow as she thought incredulously. 'I guess I should be happy they're doing anything at all; even Kael'Thas seemed a little reluctant to let him into their walls and have their armor.' She was a bit bewildered as she remembered the Blood Mage's behavior but then took an uncannily accurate guess. 'They all must still be suspicious of Siegfried's demonic alter-ego, and I'm sure the Blood Elves aren't the only ones to feel this way.' She lowered her hand and sighed as she knew this was true and felt pity for the German.

Both humans sighed but this time out of relief as the apprentice elf stepped away from the much taller knight as he appeared to be finished, that was until he held out his hand. "Your zweihänder, please." He asked in a rather blunt tone even with the 'please'. Siegfried faltered as the request was a bit sudden and had forgotten that he had to soon give up his Faust. He handed his thrusting-sword over, hilt-fist. The elf seemed to chuckle half-heartedly. "No no, I merely need its measurements. We will make an entirely new sword with our own metals; we can't make anything out of _that_." He stated emotionlessly although Siegfried wondered what he meant when he had condescendingly labeled his Faust as a _'that'_. Siegfried's eyes narrowed slightly but nodded as he lifted Faust so that it could stand by the tip of the blade while being held by the palm of his hand by the hilt.

The apprentice did as he said, taking in all sides and angles and even measurements of the hilt before rolling the brown-leather strap back up in a ball and placed it back into his utility belt. He pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment and wrote down his mental notations and measurements. "Thank you." He finished in the same half-hearted tone while not looking up at the tall knight.

Siegfried could only nod however expressionlessly in return for the elves' hospitality, which Jaina was none too pleased about either. He swung his gigantic blade onto his shoulder as he turned to head through the door while giving Jaina a glance. The sorceress watched him. "Give me a minute, would you Siegfried?" Jaina asked in a light, polite tone. Siegfried blinked at her then nodded again before he passed through the cherry oak doorway.

Jaina's eyes became almost intimidating as she swept them to the three blond elves at the back of the room, as they looked back at her in the same fashion. "Could you at least have his armor be strong and appropriate for him?" She asked in a tone that sounded a bit more demanding than pleading or hopeful as she was becoming tired of their looks of slight scorn.

One older smith shrugged as he strode towards the forge. "Why should we though? He was the same person who killed one of our new priests at the very beginning of the battle. I don't see why we should be so courteous as to let him live anyway since he'll most likely continue to commit murder for pleasure." He stated harshly as the others nodded.

Jaina gripped her staff tighter as her eyes narrowed. 'How dare they be so judgmental as insult the knight without even knowing his real current goals!' She thought as she responded to their obnoxious assertion. "Because that wasn't his actual will; his judgment and sanity was being polluted by a demon. If he wanted to kill any of us he would've done so already." She tried to sound calm, although inside she was quite surprised at the next idea she had but felt an urge to let it go. "So make his armor a bit more than just 'formidable' so that he can fight properly. Otherwise…" With a hidden smirk, she lifted her staff and shot a teal orb-like bolt towards the floor before their feet.

The three took a sudden step backward as the orb hit the floor, leaving a small area of concrete to become crushed in its new hole. The other smith looked up with dauntingly narrowed eyes, stayed silent for a moment as if trying to find a good retort but Jaina's firm grip on her trusty staff made him reluctantly nod. Jaina let her hidden smirk come out in a flash as she turned to leave. Although she was hardly if not at all used to making threats, (which she had learned from the constant arguments of the Human Alliance council members) she felt like that needed to be used. When she came out, she didn't see the knight anywhere within view, even though there were many long-haired blond elves to mistake him as. She continued to look as she went around the armory to the path back to the capital.

"Nobody wants to forget huh? I guess I don't blame them."

Jaina jumped as Siegfried spoke while leaning against the wooden wall of the armory, his arm's weight on his tall sword while his other hand was in his pocket with his head dipping forward slightly. The sorceress could only sigh as she averted her gaze from his own while running a hand through her dirty-blonde hair beneath her hood. Her silence brought him to a single, half-hearted "hmph"-like chuckle as he pushed himself from the wall to begin their walk back. "I should've seen that coming as well." He noted.

Jaina's royal blue eyes finally snapped to the back of his shoulder as he walked passed her while she followed. "Don't let them discourage you. Blood elves have been known to be a bit arrogant at times anyway." Stating as if it was meant to be a positive thing for how Siegfried felt at the moment, she quickened her pace to catch up to him while hearing the gentle taps of the end of her staff in sync with her foot each time it came to the ground.

He chuckled lightly in response, making Jaina lift an eyebrow in curiosity. "There are plenty other arrogant people where I come from whether they have a reason or not. But people who aren't arrogant can certainly seem that way around me and as I said, I don't blame them, knowing my past, knowing the grief I may have caused them." The knight didn't look at her at all as he spoke but he could feel her soft gaze upon him. "I'm content enough to know that a few people don't have doubts about my will against Soul Edge." He finally turned to her with assurance in his eyes as he finished simply. "Such as you and Sophitia."

Even though Siegfried soon turned away, Jaina noticed a certain glint in his eyes and instantly knew that it was due to the thought of the Greek girl. This sparked her curiosity. 'I knew since the beginning that he still feels something for her but I could never see how deep it might be. I wonder if he…?' Curiosity now became an understatement. She took a breath to gather her courage as she forced herself to ask while trying to sound as conditional as possible. "Siegfried, do you ever wish that you could have Sophitia as your own?" The female wizard immediately felt like kicking herself. 'Oh yeah, that came out nicely.' She thought sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at herself.

It didn't exactly help her when Siegfried abruptly turned to her, wide-eyed as a faint blush crept on his face. "Err, excuse me?" He muttered quizzically in his stunned expression as he continued to stare at her but continued to walk upon the marsh-like plains of the forest path.

The sorceress stuttered as she tried to correct herself. "I-I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I was just wondering if you might…? How you…? Why-what y-you think abou-…?" The nervous look on Siegfried's face was replaced by a bemused expression as Jaina tried to explain while appearing to become more and more gesticulate as if she simply gave up on the use of words. By the time Jaina portrayed her exasperation by letting out a hard sigh and scratching the back of her hood almost thoughtfully, Siegfried held in his amused grin and decided to relieve the girl of her struggling efforts.

"I admit I am… fond of her as a female fighter; I just found it fascinating that a woman like her had enough courage to stand up against my demonic half yet for the purpose of saving me, not killing me. Much like what you did when I fought against you as Nightmare." He added as if he just figured that out as he looked back upon the path.

Jaina merely blinked at his statement about her. "I didn't really do anything though; I just made that gem to seal Soul Edge within, with the help of Sophitia. So you should really be thanking her." She stated softly as if she thought she could've played a better roll when she helped in trying to bring Siegfried's humanity back.

"I'll make sure to do that, she does indeed deserve it. However," He turned to gaze at her from the corner of his eye. "I do believe that having the power to do the things you do, as a sorceress as young as you, is a very brave and honorable trait. So I still thank you for your consideration of me." He stated in his charmingly boyish voice, making Jaina blush while finding it hard to tear away from his gentle gaze.

"I am fond of her but I choose not to get close to her, for I still fear Soul Edge's influence on me, whether the remnants of the demon is somehow still within me or not." He declared as he turned completely away from her and went silent.

Jaina just blinked at him before she turned away. "I see." was all she could say in response. Of course she already knew that Sophitia was in love with Taki and didn't exactly plan on telling the tall knight about that fact, fearing what his reaction may be but knowing that it wouldn't be extreme negativity. But she was just curious about what _he_ felt about the Greek. '_Any particular reason why?_' The voice that always hid itself deep within her mind suddenly barged into her thoughts. Her eyes shifted to the side opposite where Siegfried was as the question hit her. 'I-I don't know, perhaps because of the charms he seems to hold. He also reminds me of someone I… once knew.' She thought in return as she sighed at the history she once had with this certain person. '_Oh and I wonder who that might be?_' Jaina narrowed her eyes at the sarcastic tone her conscience made. Female mage closed her eyes a she sharply shook her head to try and drive the voice out; she had no desire to think about the charming prince she once knew, not after what he became all because of greed. Jaina hesitantly peered over to Siegfried's broad form and let a smile creep upon her lips as she tried to keep her face hidden behind her hood; she felt pleasantly refreshed to know that he seemed so… different.

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"ASHENVALE?" Arthas boomed in outrage in disbelief as he exited his Temple of the Damned. He balled his hands into tight fists and his face screwed in anger as he had a strong urge to rip his own snowy-white hair. "How'd that bitch of a dark ranger possibly…!" He sneered at the thought of Sylvanas and how she seemed to portray her underhanded ways. As he walked through the unholy base, the knight found that at least the constant shrieks, moans and cries of indescribable torture and sorrow from some of the structures seemed to pleasantly sooth his tensing nerves.

"Do not worry yourself over her, Prince Arthas; we have greater matters to attend to." Kel'Thuzad advised as it followed. "You should be content knowing that the necromancer actually found the faint whispers of Soul Edge after his first he attempt." It added, only to make the knight sneer again.

"Insolent hag." Arthas muttered. "He didn't even have the thought of trying again after saying that he couldn't find anything of Soul Edge. How could he think that it would just drop off the face of the earth? Humph! I should have him tortured for his pitiful display in front of me." He grinned darkly at the thought as a chilling wind passed through the open spots of his armor and onto his skin, only to heighten the thrilling feeling of torture.

"Don't get so side-tracked so easily, knight. Focus on what we must do to retrieve Soul Edge." The Lich reminded, curious as to what they should do to get passed a forest of elves. 'We can surely corrupt their lands so defeating them would be difficult, the only nuisance would be the fact that the Night Elves break into many 'tribes' or whatever their ridiculous elven language calls it by.' It thought as it waited patiently for the knight's plan to see how well his own strategies are.

Arthas pondered for a moment with a sigh of irritation and rubbing his thumb and three fingers as if to relieve a headache. After a few minutes, he slowly looked up to Kel'Thuzad, who was a bit bewildered at the avidly eager grin complete with smugly narrowed eyes. "We'll release the creature upon him." He stated as turned on his heel against the gravel and seemed to hastily head toward where the 'creature' was being held.

"The creature?" Kel'Thuzad gazed at him unsurely as it hurried next to the immortal figure that seemed to hunch over as he walked in his eagerness. "Yes, 'It' would certainly be formidable in combat, especially when knowing the refinements we gave it. But are you sure that's wise? It hadripped and broken the bones of over seven guards in the last week." The lich reminded with an inwardly raised eyebrow.

Arthas instantly turned to him with a grin ready to spread across his face. "Seven? Oh then we certainly must let it loose." He remarked with enthusiasm present as he walked to the Slaughterhouse in an even faster pace.

The Slaughterhouse soon came into view with its spiked wheel at the structure's needle spinning, a sign that the breaking down of the flesh and bone for more grotesque monstrosities was commencing. Arthas shoved his way passed the door which was being guarded by three living and armed skeletons known as Greater Dark Minions with green dots the size of fireflies in their eye sockets for their vision.

The creaks of the wheel and the cracks of bone and flesh were loud as Arthas strode down the dark corridor to a single cell with Kel'Thuzad remaining at his heels. Thrashing, grunting, roaring and clanging could soon be heard over the happenings of the main room where the atrocities were being made as he came closer to the large door. The door seemed to jump as something seemed to have crashed into it from behind, Arthas stopped before the door, noting a sharp yelp from behind it and grinned. "I can't wait to see what our little creature has been doing." He noted as he took the skull-shaped knob in his hands and pushed open the door.

There it stood with an expression of extreme rage and discontent. Its muscular frame and towering height would intimidate any foe, along with its burning crimson eyes and bulky back that had bone from its vertebra protruding out of its skin. It's chest had the same long scars forming an "X" over its chest, the only difference between before and now was that the pulsing organ in the center had been stilled yet the creature still stood; all to the thanks of Kel'Thuzad and its liches. Its mouth was masked and its skin was pale, making its black armor plates easily stand out. Its eyes stared unwaveringly and in a threateningly-wide fashion as it looked down upon Arthas, who continued to grin as he looked upon the bloody mess upon the floor; minions and guards had been tossed and thrashed against the wall by the very creature that stood before him even though it was held by eight shackles. It was obvious that the minions had become to densely-minded in their playful tortures towards this gigantic being that they must have stood too close and the creature was then able to lash out at them.

"You again?" The creature shouted in a darkly deep voice towards Arthas, who stood unfazed. It remembered the knight coming in from time to time to see how and what it was doing in its captivity.

"Now now, we wouldn't want to upset the very person who is willing to release you, now would we… Astaroth?" Arthas asked in a mockingly confident tone to the large creature, which looked at him angrily but in an intrigued fashion. Its red eyes continued to stare at the death knight as it took in a breath through its nose. "So, obey me, and you're release will come nice and easy." He grinned darkly.

Astaroth sneered before he growled as he thrashed against his chains, wanting so badly to have this knight be his new victim. "I obey NO ONE! You are NOT my creator, so I shall NEVER obey YOU!" He boomed as he continued to thrash, wishing that one of the chains would come loose from the wall so that he could whip it in the knight's direction. Unfortunately, he had found out that each shackle was reinforced with dark magic, preventing the metal from breaking; only a weapon made from and for the 'Light' could weaken the magic and break the chains.

Arthas' grin fell into a frown; what insolence! But then again that could be expected from a newly 'reformed' or otherwise known as 'undead' creature; Sylvanas hadn't been much different – she had been a bit of a… 'spitfire' to her guards - but according to Kel'Thuzad and its research, this creature hadn't been 'humane' like all the living seemed to be.

"You _dare_ speak to your new master with such impudence?" Kel'Thuzad chided harshly, however Arthas merely waved a hand in his frown, telling the lich to stand down.

"Feh!" Astaroth spit at their feet. "You're petty little remarks mean nothing to me!"

The golem was silenced as Arthas abruptly brought the tip of Frostmourne against the captive's neck, pushing him back until he was against the wall. Astaroth continued to sneer although was inwardly intrigued at the chillingly cold aura this deadly weapon emitted. In subtle ways, it uncannily reminded Astaroth of the blade that he had endlessly searched for in the outer lands, the very same that his original creator had sent him to retrieve. This fact was the whole reason that Astaroth had actually stilled his rage, or at least temporarily.

"Good, now stay silent! You shouldn't be so ungrateful to the very man who returned you from the dead." Arthas' sneer turned into an amused smirk as Astaroth gazed at him with bewilderment which the golem tried to hide. "You didn't even notice? Ha!"

"Do not mock me, you little maggot!" Astaroth snapped, however blinked, trying to take in the new facts about his being; he remembered the very event of his death, caused by the Greek, Asian and Korean women, but it never initially hit him that he _actually_ died and was _actually_ brought back to life. The only thing he noticed was the change in his strength; it had become a bit stronger than before. "Why would a little knight like you want to bring me back to life." He quirked an eyebrow cockily, his blood red eyes boring into Arthas'. "Why should I even listen to everything you have to say?"

Arthas chuckled within his throat as he kept his sword up against the golem's neck. "Think about it." His tone was irritatingly mocking. "You're given a second chance to drench your own hands in blood; I could tell when I first saw your blood-soaked corpse that you weren't made for the 'Light', not with the spiked armor you wore." He stated as he leaned over his blade as he spoke in a low voice. "I am… your _re-_creator." The knight grinned.

"Well, I'm touched." Astaroth spoke sarcastically then eyed him suspiciously. "Are you expecting some kind of alliance? Because I'd rather burn in the flames of Hell than make an alliance with _anyone_." The giant narrowed his eyes as Arthas seemed to laugh at his assertion then bring his frost-bitten sword to his side.

"A creature such as you is looking for the ultimate demonic power from your own lands; Soul Edge surely?" Arthas quirked an eyebrow then grinned again as Astaroth nodded. "I know where it is, all you have to do is retrieve it for me." Astaroth's eyes widened; this knight new where it was but asks the likes of another to retrieve it? It didn't make sense to the golem but he knew that the purpose of Soul Edge for this man was power, much like many of the others who searched for the demonic sword. "I shall let you loose, and I shall not have you go about the mission on your own even though you believe that you're able to defeat an entire race; you will be given forces of your own." The undead leader stated, making Kel'Thuzad look at him in abrupt confusion and slight shock; what forces?

Astaroth looked at him for a moment, as if to survey his methods then raised an eyebrow as he turned his head a bit. "Forces of my own eh?" He pondered over the idea, then slowly looked down as he tried to hide his devilish smirk. "I will find Soul Edge, I will lead the forces you lend to me although as tedious as that sounds. But I will also need my axe as I seemed to have been stripped of it. Even though I seem for powerful than before, my bloodlust is always stronger when I grip my axe." Finishing, he looked up slowly with furrowed eyebrows.

Arthas seemed to smirk triumphantly. "I will get you something even better than an axe, something more suitable for what you are now. And for your forces, heh, I'll make sure that you'll feel _very _comfortable with them." With that, he turned to leave, making Astaroth pull against her chains in outrage.

"And my promised release?" The towering, bulky figured creation sneered.

Arthas chuckled. "Oh yes, I'll will have my necromancers come by to undo the spell on your chains." With that, he left the room with the lich close behind. Both could hear an irritated growl then a harsh '_chang!_' of yanked shackles from behind the door.

Kel'Thuzad leaned towards him. "'It' is not one to trust Arthas. His lust for Soul Edge is nearly as great as yours." It cautioned.

"Did you think I was that blind not to see it?" Arthas spoke sarcastically with the corner of his lip raised in a half-sneer. "But I have no real worries about that, even though if 'it' _does _find Soul Edge, it'll probably kill of the Abominations I give him." He stated. The lich nodded inwardly, now knowing what Arthas meant when he said that Astaroth would be 'comfortable' with his forces since both were made by supernatural magics.

"Then how do you suggest we make sure that we get Soul Edge?" Kel'Thuzad pondered aloud.

Arthas seemed to grin darkly as he looked at his advisor. "We _still_ have that spawn of Soul Edge to complete. It may not be able to have enough energy or power to even walk on its own since the small sample of Soul Edge that my ghoul stole while Nightmare was still here wasn't exactly potent in dark power, but we can change that." With that, the death knight eagerly went to order a lesser lich to speed up the production of the abominations before heading to the whereabouts of his next objective, making sure that Kel'Thuzad stayed close behind since he was going to need the master Lich's dark summoning skills.

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A male figure covered with deer furs on each shoulder and back trudged through the tall grasses in a steady pace but with hidden eagerness. He shifted his furs, relieving his handsomely taut torso though was still partially covered by his long leaf-green beard. The winds blew against his back, making a strand of his equally long and leaf-green hair lift up and wrap around one of his antlers which matched the size of a healthy, full grown male stag's.

As he reached the summit of a small hill, he took a breath then slowly turned back to see how his forest lands have healed since he had coped with them for long periods. His moonlit eyes softened as the sun's golden light caressed the tree tops. The wind brushed against the tops of the trees, making the sea of light create gentle waves and ripples. 'The work is tedious at times, but it's certainly worth it to see the tranquility I've given these forests and watch them smile in their thanks.' The arch-druid thought with a sigh.

His gaze swept to the skies as he let out another closed-mouth sigh but this one of depression and thoughtful sadness. 'I do miss home, namely my beloved.' Holding his thick root-headed staff tightly, his gaze then dropped and swept over the forests. 'Felwood is still in slight turmoil since its lands still remain corrupt, but at least the greater majority of these forest lands have healed after spending a few years with them, which actually seem like decades.'

Ovals of dulled silver met the width of each eye as they stretched vertically over both as they turned to his tall staff, gazing at the feather that hung by a string tied to one of the roots' curls. The purple feather, metal beads and crescent mark on his staff's head made his thoughts travel to pleasant memories of when he remained with the race that held those trademarks. He smiled fondly. 'Perhaps I should visit my home again; I can only last so long before my heart begins to ache for the very same person I hold within it.'

He surveyed the healthy trees around him. 'I've done as much as I can to help these forests, although I may still be far from done. But perhaps some forests need time to heal themselves before they need extra attention.' He smiled. 'I think I deserve a little break after all the healing I've done.'

He looked down the hill to find his travel companion, a tall, stout and fearless herding animal that would be considered a goat but certainly didn't have the height and horns for one as those traits were larger. It had been spending its time chewing on the lush grass, grateful that his master was able to provide such a fine meal for him after spending weeks coping in a single forest.

The slightly aged Night Elf chuckled at this as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Hey, I just cleaned up these woods and fields so your incentive eating isn't helping me." He grinned bemusedly as he watched Gholbine's dark eyes snap to his own then soon galloped off to stand by his master's side. "You can eat as much as you wish when we reach Ashenvale. It is a pretty fair distance away – a few weeks – but I believe you can make it." Malfurion smiled as they headed towards the next set of forests with eager hearts.

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I hope you liked it and that it was at least worth your wait. I rather liked how this chapter involves almost every character that I've brought into the fic thus far. The Taki/Sophie thing may have been a little fast/sudden for some, I know, but that's why I made Sophie say that she didn't expect Taki to suddenly fall for her, so I'll make the pace nice enough for Taki to adapt to _the ways of love_ :)

With Maiev and Naisha, I thought I should put that in to give Maiev a little background and a little flashback for the both of them. When I gave Maiev the extra 'trait' on her face, I did that because I thought I'd add character to her personality and raise more question marks for her background.

Jaina will learn more about Siegfried horrible past as this fic progresses, and as for her threat to the blood elves (since that may've been hard to visualize for some), I really wanted to put that in because then I could show the hidden spitfire the little sorceress contains when it comes to people insulting her friends ;)

I have a few ideas for the next chapter of My Way, I just need to bring them all together. It should be easier since I have to go from 'serious' to 'comedy', then in these couple of months I've done the 'serious', 'serious', then finally 'comedy', my genres kind of keep me in line so these two months have thrown me off a bit.

I'm thinking that, if this fic goes very far, that I'll make an 'A New Era: The Outtakes' and 'A New Era: Flashbacks' where all the flashbacks mentioned between the characters (such as the memory of Naisha finding Maiev bathing, as stated in this chapter) will be put into detail.


	15. The Undead Golem Cometh

Do not own SC characters.

I KNOW! I KNOW! Bows before loyal readers and pleads JUNIOR YEAR IS A KILLER! IT'S OUT TO GET ME, I SWEAR! This one is much long than any of my previous chapters and there's not even a reader-response put in yet, just because I know that you would be more interested in reading the story than waiting even longer for me to get back to all your replies. So I'm so so so so so gasps for more breath so so so so sorry! I can't promise if my next chapter of My Way will take less time because of my infamous junior year. But I'll be working on it as much as I can. I'm also writing another fic, ot at least in the process of. It's another shoujo-ai hugs shoujo-ai and the pairing is Natsuki and Shizuru from the anime Mai-HiME, the born-to-be couple. They are my second-most favorite shoujo-ai couple.

Anyway, please forgive me and I hope you enjoy

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Chapter 15: The Undead Golem Cometh

'Twelve days…' Taki recollected, her mind being stirred with thoughts. 'Twelve days since Sophitia had finally told me about our… previous relationship. Or perhaps it's been even longer than that; the days seem to be passing at a much slower pace than before.' She shifted leaning position upon a thick branch of one of the several unfathomably large trees of the Night Elven forest. Originally, her reason for being where she was now was because she had been invited to watch Kilik and Mina practice with Jaina and her offensive magics, a spectacle that was occurring just beneath her. It would have been a very interesting sight to see; a very well trained, spell-casting young woman against two staff-wielding warriors could easily be worth watching. However, even the sounds of aggressive training could not begin to waver the stream of thoughts that sped through the lone figure's head.

Gazing out onto the dark twilight skies, their red-purple rays of light highlighting the tops of the trees and roofs of the forest's inhabitants, be them its devoted Night Elves or foreign, Taki could only search through its guiding light as if she thought that within the color-outlined clouds held the answers that she needed right now.

'The reason for these long days is surely because of the awkwardness between Sophitia and I. The furthest that we've gone in this relationship since she told me is a mere hug!' Taki crossed her arms over her stomach and let her hand run along her face, as if the thought didn't seem potent enough to please her. 'Actually, it wasn't even a hug but a small embrace that Sophitia had been brave enough to do with me at the point; she wrapped her arms around me, loosely, as though she was afraid that she would break me.'

She sighed, her eyes softly drifting away from the sky as the memory flooded back into her head; she remembered that simple memory perfectly as if her subconscious _wanted_ it to be burned there. 'When she rested her head on my shoulder, I know that she felt me become tentative, though she still kept her arms around me nonetheless. Of course, while she stood there with her arms snugly around me, all I could do was just stand there with no idea of what to do.' Taki felt like smacking herself in the head at that thought.

'And just when I thought I had gathered up enough courage to at least place my hands on her back, she slowly let go and tried to hide that expression of disappointment on her face.' She ran a hand through her ebony bangs as she looked down almost in regret, then roughly combed through them once as her face took on an expression of irritation and confusion. 'How could I just _forget_ something like being in love? That is baffling enough let alone the question of how I let myself fall in love at all!' Taki's slightly-furrowed mahogany eyes darted as she thought this; indeed, how love became part of the ninja's life was a question that Taki had no idea how to answer as the thought filled her with more concern than confusion.

'_Whoosh-_'"Whoa!" '_SMASH!_'

Taki felt the tree give a violent shake. With the quickness of a startled cat, Taki took the large branch she sat on between her hands while she equalized her balance and she waited the few seconds for the rocking to finally settle. With her attention finally or at least temporarily turned she looked down out of curiosity and interest of what was going on between the three practicing:

Seung Mina was pulling herself up from the ground as Kilik came towards her to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked calmly as he took hold of her arm to aid her.

After lifting herself from the ground that she had dived onto, Mina brushed off the dirt with her hand as she answered with slight irritation. "Yeah, I'm fine." She ignored mentioning the fact that she was still a little shaken after having to dodge a huge boulder that was now imbedded into the trunk of the tree behind her, strands of bark curled away in different directions from the boulder as a cause of its impact. With wide eyes, Mina quickly turned from the boulder to the now-uncloaked Jaina, who was far opposite of the boulder and, according to her expression of astonishment, seemed to have the same revelation that Mina had found; if Mina hadn't dodged that, then the boulder wouldn't have been the only thing imbedded into that tree.

Tensing, Mina raised an eyebrow at her. "Jaina?" She started sweetly, although her eyes didn't appear so. "Wasn't the plan of this exercise to be that you'd bring rocks and stones from the ground and, with your skill in magic, fire them at us while we try to block them? When we said 'rocks and stones' we meant for them to be no bigger than the size of a fist, we didn't mean the size of a boulder!" As she spoke, Mina could feel her grip on her Zanbatou become tighter; she was nearly killed! Wasn't Jaina supposed to be good at elemental magics such as that?

Jaina could only give her an apologetic smile. "I know, sorry about that." She spoke in a low voice before lifting up a finger to state a point; "But remember, I _did_ mention that as a sorceress the elements that I excel in are water and air, not earth, at least not as much; I have had training in that area but I never really studied it as thoroughly. And the reason that I was reluctant to train with you at first was because I was afraid that something like _this_ was going to happen." Brushing aside the light-blonde hair that fell forward around her face that wasn't pulled back in her ponytail, which wouldn't have been seen had she been wearing her cloak and hood, Jaina stated in her defense as she crossed her arms simply over her stomach.

As Mina opened her mouth, Jaina spoke up again before the Korean could. "The reason that I _did_ agree to training with you was because I thought I could use the time to train myself in the areas of magic that I feel I'm weakest at as well." Jaina's light blue eyes drifted over the grounds around her, finding them to have many holes from which the stones had burst during her period of continuous concentration and mental chanting. "But apparently I have more practicing to do." She finished, her palm tentatively rubbing her exposed nape as she finally found the large burrow that the boulder had shot up from. 'I suppose have to pay more attention in sensing the difference in masses of each one.' She made a mental note as she strode towards the hole, stepping over the much smaller ones that matted the grass and soil. Looking into it, she gawked as she found that the boulder must have been buried no less than five feet; that spell was more powerful than she realized!

Kilik only let out a sigh as his palm finally left Mina's arm before turning back to the trunk of the tree that was now twenty-five percent wood, seventy-five percent stone. 'Wonder how we'll explain this to that Night Elf priestess. It's obvious that they have a love for these trees.' He thought, feeling guilty for two things at the moment; accidentally making the beautiful tree become in the condition it was in now, and for thinking "that Night Elf priestess" instead of using her actual name. Though he couldn't help it either; being Chinese, the name 'Tyrande' was a bit of a tongue-breaker, he even had troubles pronouncing it in his head.

Mina let out a breath as she leaned on her Zanbatou, closing her eyes for a second. "Since it looks like we nearly desecrated this place, perhaps we should go to another place and try to keep training with an element that you're more confident in manipulating." She suggested while taking her long, brown braid and laying it over her shoulder so that her nape could feel the cool wind that could hardly be felt brushing through the trees.

Jaina seemed to let out a tired sigh before briefly closing her eyes and letting her head fall forward. "Sure. Just… give me a few minutes to let my mind settle; concentrating like I did for so long can give somewhat painful after-effects on your head." Her hand ran along her forehead as if a twinge of a headache was occurring.

Mina only nodded as Jaina had looked up; her muscles were a little sore anyway, and besides, it would be better if Jaina's concentration didn't go haywire during the exercise. The Korean turned to the tree that Taki had supposedly jumped in; Mina hadn't exactly followed where the ninja had moved, so finding a semi-dark, motionless figure within the thick brushes of the tree in this low amount of light was a little difficult. Instead of searching, Mina simply hollered. "HEY TAKI! In case you didn't hear, we're moving out soon! So whether you want to follow us, go back, or continue to play look-out up there, I'M JUST LETTING YOU-!" Mina stopped as she noticed the movement of a red body suit just above her as it made its way down.

Once Taki's foot touched the ground, her annoyed-hinting eyes landed on the smaller girl, who stood still and just looked back up at her. "Thank you for giving me those options and for informing me, although I must let you know that I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE!" She boomed back with slightly gritted teeth, watching as Mina flinched while letting her Zanbatou drop onto her shoulder to cover her ears with her palms.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry!" Mina yelled back, not as loud as before. She turned on her heel, her Zanbatou back in her hand as she took a few steps away, muttering something. "Man, why are you in such a bad mood?"

Taki's eyebrows remained furrowed as she just kept her eyes on Mina for a moment before dropping them to the ground almost hesitantly. "N-nothing. I just… I've just had a lot on my mind."

Mina suddenly turned back to her with a wide, teasing grin that immediately struck nervousness inside the taller woman. "Oh I bet you have!" The teenaged girl nearly sped up close to Taki before the ninja could even open her mouth to question her. "Sophitia already told me what happened." She stated in a low tone so that the others couldn't hear, something that she didn't have to worry about anyway since they were all at a pretty fair distance from each other.

Taki turned pallid; she hoped that Mina was the only one who knew and that their relationship wasn't the gossip topic of the forest. "Did you know about how we were before? The whole relationship? Is it true?" When Mina's grinning face nodded, she sound herself to be completely dumbfounded, much to Mina's growing amusement. 'So it really is… S-Sophitia and I were…?' Suddenly, as her mind raced in its shock, an image abruptly flashed into her mind:

Sophitia and herself kneeled in the center of a bed that was almost hardly large enough for two; an indication that if the two wanted to sleep in the same bed together and not fall off, they would have to sleep in a snuggle-like embrace. A single white linen bed sheet was the only item that covered their bare bodies as they held each other tightly in their arms. Both of their hair hung loose around their shoulders, the Japanese woman's ebony tresses equaling a little more than half the length of the golden blonde of the Grecian's. Taki's hands held her Grecian lover possessively at the ribcage while the younger girl slid her hands up Taki's exposed upper chest to cup her face. The brave, female gladiator pulled her closer to give her beautiful demon huntress a feather-light kiss which, thanks to Taki's willingness, became more passionate and deep as every few seconds had passed. As desire continued to flood their minds and bodies, both found themselves more willing, _wanting_, to explore more… _hidden_ territories… and with more than just fingertips to guide them in enticing the other.

"…Mina!" Taki burst herself from her train of thought as she turned to a slightly startled Mina. Thankful that she was wearing a red mask, Taki could feel her face turn redder and redder as more pictures displayed themselves to her mind's eye. She took Mina by the dark yellow sash that tied loosely around her shoulders and spoke in a forced yet harsh whisper. "Why didn't you tell me this little piece of news before?"

Mina only answered tartly, "You never asked." Before Taki acted out the idea of strangling the younger girl with her own sash, Mina continued. "Plus, I knew that if I told you then you'd never take the idea seriously if it came from me, so I figured that it would be better if Sophitia told you herself."

Taki only looked at the Korean, whose expression turned from amused to neutral, displaying her seriousness. The slightly taller woman let out a sigh as she let the sash go. Her answer was quite true; Taki had lost no memories of first meeting Mina and knew how often they'd throw cocky remarks at each other just for the fun of ticking the other off. With that in mind, if Mina had been the one to tell her, then Taki would've believed that the teenager was trying to play games with her, and a rather cruel one in Taki's opinion. The demon slayer felt the tension in her muscles ease as she ran a hand through her bangs again before she asked softly, "Have you seen her around at all?"

Mina looked down slightly and tapped her chin with her finger three times. "Actually, no; I haven't seen her since this morning." Perplexed at this, Mina remained in a train of thought; being the one that Sophitia was closest to since Taki's loss-of-memory, Mina found it strange that Sophitia could give the impression that she was becoming slightly reclusive and taciturn around them. But Mina just shrugged it off, thinking that her slow progress with Taki may be the cause and is, perhaps, just depressed. She looked up at Taki with an eye that looked both knowing yet hopeful. "Why do you ask? Are you going to finally try something with Sophitia?"

Taki blinked, feeling her blush slowly coming back, making her eyes avert downward almost sheepishly. "Well… n-no… but-"

Before she could continue, Mina looked away as she rolled her eyes and gave out an exasperated sigh. "Oh my- how long does it take you?" Mina placed her hands on her hips. "It's not that difficult, you know. I mean, you haven't even does so much as give her a small kiss on the cheek! She's truly in love with you, so what else do you need?" Just when Taki though Mina was done, the younger girl yet again broke in before she could speak. "Gods, even _I_ would've had enough time to take her by now!" She paused before she quickly added, "If I was attracted to her. Then again, if I was attracted to women at _all_."

Taki wasn't focusing on Mina's small blush of embarrassment but her rather offensive words. How would _she_ know? _She_ wasn't in the situation that Taki was in! You can't just suddenly love someone even though they've confessed their love to you; it takes more time with that, and a lot more time for Taki in her case. "I can't just do that." She spoke softly, although her eyes held absolute seriousness as she locked her gaze with Mina's. "For me, as a demon hunter, the idea of being in love is almost ridiculous. That's how it was for the rest of my clan; we had our own basic guide of living, a code of conduct, and it didn't include love since our vocation would easily endanger the ones we may be in love with. Love was forbidden in our teachings, and we didn't really see a point to it anyway since what love led to could make a person become sidetracked, something that we couldn't afford."

Taki gazed at the silent Mina for a moment before raising her hand to show a counting gesture with her fingers. "Learn the basics of different evils, complete chores around the temple, train one's body and mind with given weapons, hunt, kill, cleanse, and wait for the next demon to cross our paths so that the cycle can start again from 'hunting'." She lowered her hand. "That was the order of how our lives were supposed to be, for my brother members, sister members and myself. Falling in love was nowhere within that." Finally finishing in her simplistic tone, Taki crossed her arms over her stomach and turned to lean her back against the nearest tree. Her eyes laid themselves onto the velvety-green grass in front of her as she recalled her paternal mentor's teachings.

"Well, as true as that may sound," Jaina suddenly joined in the conversation as the other two didn't seem to notice her walk up to them. "I think you're just making up reasons for you to keep avoiding what Sophitia is offering to you." She stated softly while she fastened the clip of her cloak loosely around her neck, hood down.

Taki just looked at her for a moment with an expression somewhere between confusion and surprise. "I… I'm not avoiding her, I just… Hey wait, since when is the status of my love-life anyone's business? Why do I have to keep defending myself? When I know that I feel comfortable having her love and that I'm willing to give my affections to her, I'll tell her! So thank you very much for your concern!" She finished tartly as she pushed herself off the tree and turned to head back into the city limits, feeling the need to be alone and away from the people who were actually aware of their relationship. As she had taken a deep breath to calm her nerves, Taki found herself almost bumping into Kilik. "Oh, sorry Kil… Kilik?" Her eyes widened as she noticed that the Chinese boy was completely frozen, literally. He had a rather surprised expression on his face with his eyes directly at the spot where the three girls had conversed. The only part about him that lead Taki to believe that he was actually frozen solid was that his skin, hair, and even his clothes held a light, tinted blue color, as though a thin sheet of ice covered his body .

"K-Kilik?" Mina sputtered in a frightened surprise as she jumped back slightly. "W-wha-?"

"Oh don't worry, he'll be fine." Jaina assured with a simple wave of her hand as she finally remembered him. "It's just a sixty-second spell called "Freeze". I think he has less than twenty seconds left." She turned her royal-blue eyes to Mina. "I thought it would be best since the point in time when he had turned to you two like that was when you said that even you would've been able to win Sophitia's affections by now." A bemused expression contorted onto her face as she tried to hide it.

The light-pink blush returned to Mina's cheeks even though she tried to hold a serious visage. "I didn't mean it that way!"

"Oh I know, don't worry." Jaina held a light tone as if to sound more reassuring than before; perhaps she was thinking that Mina needed it more for this case than when finding out that Kilik was frozen in a spell.

With just a blink, Taki looked at them as an amused smile slowly formed on her face; quite the group she was working with. "Try not to get into too much trouble." With a wave over her shoulder, Taki once again returned to her stride towards the city. Perhaps she would run into Sophitia again, and maybe, just maybe she would gather enough courage to do a little more than just embrace.

888888

Walking down one of the many paths of the incomprehensibly wide forest of Ashenvale, Sophitia eyes cast themselves around the hedgerows as she passed. The sun had set enough for the trees to blanket the grounds around them with nearly the darkest of shadows and only small patches of grass and the trunks of trees were graced with the presence of amber light. She was thankful that some of the limbs of nearby trees held lamps to light her path.

Normally, a person would think that the reason for a woman such as Sophitia to be walking along these tranquil lands by herself would be to just gaze at the scenery and think and perhaps daydream about a certain Japanese woman. And normally, they would be correct, but tonight, that was not at all Sophitia's purpose of striding down a lamp-lit pathway while lightly but cautiously fingering the hilt of her trusted sword as it remained in its sheath at her hip. Right now, all that she needed to see and speak to was the Dark Ranger herself; today would be the fourth day in a row that she hadn't seen her.

She found herself becoming more and more unsettled as she continued to search through the hedgerows and shrubs around her. 'I understand Sylvanas not wanting to be seen by any living person, I'm sure even myself included, but I had expected her to eventually say something about Arthas and what he may be doing… planning.' Emerald eyes were finally eased from their straining concentration as she let them fall onto the dirt path. 'I'm not really in the best mood for this endless searching, these last few days have been tense enough…' She took a breath before scanning the trees again.

As she continued her stride, she was just about read to turn back and try another path when she heard a twig snap from within one of the hedgerows. Could that have been Sylvanas? 'It sounded so close… Of course, it may have most likely been some kind of forest animal. The Night Elves seem to have thousands of them. But even so, it wouldn't hurt to check…' With that she left the path and stepped into the forest's edge.

By the small chill than ran up her spine as she entered the forest that was obscurely defined by the sun's dull light, she could tell that she was close. The deeper she walked, the greater the feeling of eyes intensely on her became. These were not the kinds of eyes that she would feel when a passing Night Elf or an Orc would give her; these felt… unforgiving… ominous. Her instincts were normally correct, that she knew, so she couldn't allow herself to simply 'ignore' them:

she stopped in the center of a circle of trees, and slowly looked around herself, making sure to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. Finding nothing but more trees, birds perched within them, a couple of hanging lamps in the limbs of a few trees and shadow, Sophitia took one last cautious look behind her to double-check then sighed; 'Perhaps these few days have been more tense than I realized.' She thought as she ran her fingers through her bangs once before she turned to look forwards again. Then, she nearly gasped as she found herself finally confronted by those same threatening eyes leering at her.

Before her stood the ghostly pale, streaming-long and white hair, green dress and grey cloak, claw-like nails and blood-shot eyes of Sylvanas' entrusted banshee, Sharlindra. It had been a while since she had laid eyes on the emotionally-tormented ghost, so she found herself being as startled as when she had first met her the night that Sylvanas and herself had formed their own little alliance.

Sharlindra's eyes were narrowed as a mock smile formed on her face. "So nice to see you again, Ms. Sophitia." It could easily be seen that this banshee's intentions were far from pleasant. This was soon proved as the floating ghost suddenly flew forward like a flash and rammed the living woman against a tree behind her and pinned her there with her clawed hands holding her arms. She was gripping the young warrior so hard that Sophitia could practically feel her circulation being suppressed. "But you know, Ms. Sophitia," Sharlindra continued in her mock-pleasant tone, which slowly became harder and hiss-like. "It isn't wise to wonder out this far… all alone… in the _dark_… where no one else can here you _scream_!"

"What in Hades the matter with you?" Sophitia shouted over Sharlindra's rage-filled voice, struggling to get out of her constrictive grasp.

Sharlindra scowled loathingly, making her features even more frightening for anyone to behold. "Don't think that you've tricked me, little girl! Don't think I don't know what you're up to! You and your futile plan of using, abusing, and then finally destroying our beloved Dark Lady!"

Sophitia didn't need someone else to inform her that by "Dark Lady", Sharlindra was referring to Sylvanas, and by "our" she meant the undead. Sophitia could feel her own features contort into violent rage as well; she really didn't need this, she didn't need someone falsely accusing her of something she would never even considered doing. She sympathized Sylvanas' torment in being forever undead, she even sympathized Sharlindra as well! Not to mention the others who were never given the chance, the freedom, of living their lives the way they would've wanted to.

And what's more, the different races were becoming restless, never going anywhere for the battle that they were told to recruit for. There was even a rumor going around that Arthas' undead forces were never coming and that there would be no point in staying and waiting since all that they were doing all day was perform endless tasks for resources. But they were coming! Sophitia had no doubt of that! Even if Arthas may not be as strong without Soul Edge as his partner, she must still fight and destroy his sword, Frostmourne! And besides, if she knew the greedy influence the darkness had correctly, then Arthas would no doubt want to come back and reclaim Soul Edge and do horribly corrupt things with it.

And yet another bonus for her mood was just how slow the progress between Taki and herself had been going. Instead of becoming closer, they seemed to becoming further and further apart. She knew that most of the cause was her not doing and showing enough to Taki, how much she _did_ love her and still does and how she wanted Taki to trust her enough so that she could come to her when she needed to be shown love and comfort. She cursed herself, knowing that she was the one at fault for not doing what she had promised to Taki properly, and she cursed herself even more for lacking the confidence she once had.

With all this in mind, Sophitia wasn't exactly in the mood to speak to Sharlindra in a rational manner. "Why would I do that? I never go back on my word and I told Sylvanas that as well." She tried no to sneer, knowing that it wasn't exactly wise to provoke the banshee even more, at least not at this point.

"You would do that because you, being like all other living humans are, fear and despise the undead. Besides, why would you be skulking around these forests for her with your hand touching your hilt? It looked like you were hunting around for something." Sharlindra inquired as if she was confident that she had Sophitia cornered.

"I wasn't hunting for someone, I was just trying to find your mistress so that I may ask her if she had heard or perhaps felt anything concerning Arthas." Sophitia didn't want to add that she reason why she was holding her hilt like she had was because she was using it as a precaution just in case something like _this_ would happen.

"She hasn't heard anything." The banshee answered quickly and sternly, keeping her grip on the blonde's shoulders

"I want to hear it from her." Sophitia replied at the same speed and tone as Sharlindra's answer.

Sharlindra lightly snarled, flashing a fang threateningly. "Stubborn little wench, aren't you?"

Sophitia's eyes narrowed. "Well, by the way you're treating me now, I don't exactly_ trust_ your word." Trying to break herself from Sharlindra's clutching hands, she felt a quick burning sensations on her skin where the banshee's claw-like fingers gripped. "Now release me so that I may find her myself."

Sharlindra laughed within her throat as she leaned her gliding form towards the human and spoke, "I'm not kind enough to do such a thing." Grinning maliciously, she displayed both fangs as her eyes portrayed a spiteful hunger.

Sophitia then sneered at the bloodshot eyes that bored onto her. "Alright, then I'll just…" Reaching for her sword and drawing it from its sheath, she made it looked like one lashing motion as she slashed her weapon as much as she could diagonally across Sharlindra's ghost-like body. _"Repent!"_ She shouted in her own thick Greek language as she attacked, feeling her small sword tremble as a thin golden light outlined her sword.

Sharlindra nearly screamed as an invisible force hit her painfully hard across her chest, sending her flying backwards until a nearby tree abruptly stopped her by hitting her back. She fell onto to the ground with a small grunt. Panting slightly, she raised herself up on her arms as looked up at Sophitia with loathing hate. As Sophitia just stood there with an inexorable expression on her face and sword gripped in her hand as if warning her not to come near her again, Sharlindra levitated herself into her normal floating position with a sneer on her face. She drew in a long breath then constricted her throat, ready to release her deadly shriek of torment onto this living warrior.

"Hold yourself Sharlindra!"

Both Sophitia and Sharlindra sharply turned to their side to find Sylvanas walking towards them with a raised hand, signaling the banshee to stop. Sylvanas was as domineering as ever as her posture was like that of an unbreakable wall. The stern look that she gave now and many times before would make any other common person lose the feeling in their knees and know that they would be lucky if they were able to leave with their lives and perhaps even most of their limbs.

Sharlindra just stared at her mistress as she slowly exhaled her breath. While Sophitia stood their in silence, since Sylvanas' attention was more on her undead sister than herself, she watched as Sharlindra turned herself completely to Sylvanas and made a courteous bow, making her long snake-like hair fall over her head. "I… beg your pardon, my queen…. Have I woken you from your slumber?" Sharlindra knew it would be best to explain her actions, but she didn't exactly know _how_ since it was under her own will that she had done something so rash.

"You did." Sylvanas answered simply in the same dark shadowy voice. She didn't at all seem angered by her sister's actions, as if she had known Sharlindra would do such things and was just waiting. "But that doesn't matter. Just go back to our burrow and wait for me there." She ordered.

After giving Sophitia one last discreet sneer, Sharlindra made the strangest gesture the blonde had ever seen; she crossed her arms over her chest as if to cover her heart then nodded her head upwards once before she faded away into nothing. Feeling an aching pain on her arms where Sharlindra had held her, she moved her hand up to rub one of them to find bloody flesh wounds around her arm, most likely where her nails must have dug in.

"That was a salute." Sylvanas suddenly spoke up, making Sophitia eye's land fully onto her blood-red ones. At Sophitia's quizzical look, Sylvanas spoke again. "It was an undead salute that she gave me."

Sophitia nodded slowly, then paused. "She seems favorable of remaining undead." She noted.

Sylvanas simply crossed her arms over her stomach as she stated, "She's not the only one; several of the undead that came to me and The Forsaken chose their fate because they're searching for their own freedom from the living."

Sophitia gave her a perplexed look as she implied a theory she always had about all people. "Don't you believe that the living can offer freedom to those who _do _live?"

Sylvanas paused before she let out a small closed-mouth sigh and gave Sophitia a rather flinty, bitter look. "As the undead, it is the living that haunt _us_, so this is a different kind of freedom than you can understand."

Sophitia remained silent, understanding that what Sharlindra had said about the living despising and fearing the undead was the same in the case of the undead as well; they despised and feared the living in return. Though the one thing that she wondered was since Sylvanas is undead and is even the queen of a brigade of them, why did she choose to not kill the living warrior in front of her in an instant? Even though she _did_ promise to help Sylvanas in healing her soul and to destroy Arthas and The Scourge, she was surprised that Sylvanas didn't roll her demonic eyes at Sophitia's proposition and simply slit her throat and add her to the number of living people Sylvanas has surely already killed.

"Anyway," Sylvanas broke Sophitia's train of thought. "I know you came to me to ask about Arthas and, as my sister banshee had said, I've not heard anything about him or his plans." Despite this news, Sophitia felt reassured knowing that Sylvanas had told her in person and not by Sharlindra. "However, Varimanthras, my vizier, has notified me that some of the deathguards that scout the few towns taken by The Forsaken have seen the likes of a giant creature that appears to have the characteristics of an undead being but is not of our design."

Sophitia merely blinked in her comprehension of this information; the problem appeared ineffectual to her since it sounded like a possible misunderstanding. "You're concerned about this?"

Sylvanas' eyebrows immediately furrowed as she answered, "Of course I am! Finding an undead creature that no one within The Forsaken that hasn't even the layout of how to create means that someone else who is not of The Forsaken has taken the liberty of doing so. There's only one other person who can make this kind of reclamation and that's Arthas." At Sophitia's apprehending expression she removed her dark quiver from her back, slipped her blue-skinned arm in and around the collection of arrows and pulled out a piece of crumpled parchment. She held the aged paper out to Sophitia as she stated in an almost demanding tone. "This is the letter he sent me; he described some of the characteristics of the creature according to the deathguards' claims. Read it. I know that it's coming here so you better prepare yourself and have your other living friends do the same."

Sophitia looked at the parchment held between Sylvanas' long, slender fingers and rather sharp-looking black nails. Taking it between her own fingers, she flattened the parchment as much as she could before she began to read… well, at least _tried_ to read it. "I… What kind of language is this?" She uttered as she hesitantly looked up to Sylvanas.

The dark ranger gave a nonplussed expression before grabbing the parchment out of Sophitia's hands and rereading it for herself. She still seemed bewildered until she finally noticed the error and portrayed a rather annoyed expression. "I'll read the characteristics to you; Varimanthras wrote this letter in the dialect of the undead; "Gutterspeak"." Sylvanas' red eyes began to scan the paper intently. "… The body is very much defined by muscle; this is something that even my own votaries that mold bodies together do not have enough skill to do…" She noted almost grimly before she continued to scan. "…It seems to have a liking to the fashion of spiked armor along with brown and black leather… skin is pale… has two slashes in it's chest where in the center is a bulging, bloody organ of some sort… and is supposedly twice the size of any man." Sylvanas finally finished as she looked up.

Sophitia's heart began to race; she recognized those features. But how could… how could he still be alive? She killed him before she ever reached Azeroth! It's amazing that he had managed to make his way here much less survive!

"D-does it carry an axe? Did it say in the letter?" The Grecian knew it would be best to make sure.

"An axe?" Sylvanas paused as she recalled what the letter had mentioned about the creature. "No, it didn't say anything about that. The weapon it was seen carrying, according to Varimanthras, was a large scythe." As if not bothered by this, Sylvanas held a tone of indifference as she spoke.

Sophitia pulled back in perplexity. 'A scythe? Since when did Astaroth choose a scythe over his trusted axe?' She questioned. 'Hmm. But even so, it didn't make it any less possible that it could indeed be Astaroth that was hunting us now, especially with Sylvanas' descriptions of him. Even if I last remember him being dead, if Arthas had gotten his horrible, greedy and corrupt hands on him…' Her emerald eyes drifted up to Sylvanas, who continued to stand still with an expression that looked like it was slowly leading to impatience. 'Sylvanas is an example of what could happen.' She thought uneasily and cautiously.

"Were there any others accompanying it?" Sophitia asked softly just for good measure.

"Just a group of Abominations." Sylvanas answered quickly and simply as if she were inwardly shrugging at the information.

Hearing that label, Sophitia's eyes widened in horror. "Wh…What…?"

Sylvanas' expression of indifference turned skeptical as she simply shifted her weight onto her other leg. "There's no need for me to explain what 'Abominations' are; you will know what they are once you've looked at them." Her response was dull as she folded her arms over her stomach.

Sophitia nodded faintly, wishing that she would be told what 'Abominations' were rather than finding out with her eyes. The label was descriptive enough. "So they are headed this way? You're certain about this?" The blonde wanted to make sure that she wasn't being misled.

Sylvanas' burning red eyes took on a look of increasing agitation, and Sophitia noticed this easily. "Yes." Her agitation wasn't only noticed in her eyes, her voice proved that. "They left on a boat from the western shores of Lorderon, the island east of here. A deathguard reported spotting them heading due west towards Northern Kalimdor, which is where we are." The dark ranger made sure to note every aspect of their travel not only to satisfy whatever questions that the blonde had, whether asked or not, but also since she was from the "outer lands" and wasn't at all familiar with Azeroth except wherever she may have already stepped.

Sophitia merely blinked then nodded as she looked down; she wasn't particularly surprised by Sylvanas' rather sarcastic and haughty tone but decided it would be best not to push it further; she was, after all, the queen of the banshees. "Alright. I will warn Tyrande first since her sentinels surely quard the coastlines near Ashenvale-."

"I don't care what you do," Sylvanas interrupted bluntly as though speaking to one of her own acolytes, which Sophitia frankly resented and had it in mind to retort but reluctantly kept her mouth shut. "I only care that you do it fast. For all we know it may habe already reached the coastlines and is burning your allies' villages to the ground-."

"That shouldn't bother you; they are the living." It was Sophitia's turn to interject, using it as her retort against Sylvanas' impervious treatment of her. Sophitia spoke again during Sylvanas' silence, knowing that it would most likely be temporary. "You just want this creature eliminated because it, supposedly, is being commanded by Arthas. I know that Arthas and the progress of the Scourge while under his rule is all you care about even if your prediction is surely true. Which, by the way, is something that I'll address to Tyrande with."

Sylvanas found herself remaining silent even after Sophitia had stopped with her confident tone. The words that she had meant to use to contest Sophitia's statement suddenly left her mind as she knew what the human had said was true. She let a mere smirk form on her face as she spoke, "Beginning to understand some of the hidden corners of me, hm? How astute of you." Although her tone was rather dull, she held her smirk underneath her dark hood.

"I need to understand you. That way I can understand the undead a little better as well." With that, she started heading backwards towards the dry soil of the lit pathway. "I'll be expecting to see you arrows in the air when … when _it_ comes." Since she wasn't sure if the creature that was hunting them was really Astaroth, Sophitia knew it would be better to not say that she may already know about him because she knew that Sylvanas would most likely depend on her whenever he would attack.

Sylvanas gave an almost inaudible but confident chuckle. "Count on it." Within seconds, she made her soundless departure back into the woods.

888

Malfurion didn't need to look down as he stepped over each root that jutted out from the ground; he had been surrounded by trees for the majority of his life and, being a druid, he could sense the differences within and out of the ground. And besides, inside he was very much anxious as he approached the opening of the trees that led to the capital of his homelands. He could not find words to properly explain his excitement as he calmly came to the forest's edge, waited for his companion, Gholbine, to trot up to his feet next to him, then raised a hand to push back a curtain of willow vines in front of him so that his sunlight-golden eyes may finally land on the capital's tall ziggurats.

Smiling contently at the refreshing sight, he noticed thankfully it had not changed much since he had last left. At the sight of the sky which was now lined with indigo and streaked with crimson colors his fatigue came back to him, making him release a sigh as he stepped onto the capital grounds. Just as his foot made contact with the moist ground, his senses felt a sudden pang; something was amiss. Hearing a dull clip-clopping sound next to him, his hand flew back, telling Gholbine to stay while he went ahead to examine the area. He took a few slow steps into the capital and before he could even ask himself what it could be to cause his senses to react like that, a thin and pale blue-skinned figure with fiery-red hair that spiked upwards had crossed his path but did not seem to notice him.

Malfurion's eyes narrowed. An intruder? In Ashenvale? How? Has something happened to the Night Elves who inhabited this land? Desperately wanting to have answers, he crept towards the figure. The druid quickly looked either side of him to make sure that there weren't any others coming before he came to a stop behind the patroller and noticed even in the darkness of the night that the patroller bore red markings on his arms, instantly telling him that this creature was one of the Horde. Furious at this invasion, he camouflaged himself into the night before smacking the end of his wooden staff against the side of the unknowing invader's head.

Howling in pain, the spear-bearing patroller hit the ground while holding his throbbing head in between his three-fingered hands before feeling himself being pulled back to the edge of the forest. Before he could break away from Malfurion's grasp, he felt a staff being held against his throat, pinning him down. With his face being outlined by the moonlight, Malfurion finally proved his suspicions of this warrior being a troll as he could see his fully grown tusks, long pointy nose (which had a bull-ring through it), and wooden armor.

The troll struggled and squirmed beneath Malfurion's staff. "What's ya problem mon?"

"What is a troll like you doing in Ashenvale? Where are the rest of the Night Elves?" Malfurion demanded in a low tone as he continued to hold him down.

Passed the troll's scowling expression he held a hint of perplexity in his red eyes. "What 'cha talkin' about? D'ey ain't gone nowhere! If d'ey had, we would've redecorated d'is place long ago!"

"Then where is Tyrande Whisperwind?" He asked as he leaned over him as though making sure that the troll would not only_ be_ but_ feel_ cornered.

"Urgh!" The troll choked slightly, making Malfurion reluctantly lighten his hold a bit; he didn't exactly want to be the cause of the death of a mere patroller, whether they were enemy or not. He found himself being that way many times and of course he expected that since he knew he was one who encouraged life. "Ya mean dat High Priestess lady of yours?" He asked once he caught his breath, wanting to curse the much older druid. "She's in dat buildin' like she always is." He gestured his head, or his long nose, towards the tallest ziggurat. "She's supposed ta be havin' some sort a' meetin' wi'd da boss-man and a couple a' humans."

Malfurion's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would Tyrande be speaking to humans as well as your leader?" The question seemed to pass his lips on its own; it just stunned him slightly that Tyrande would choose to do that. He knew she would normally avoid having relations with humans let alone creatures of the Horde.

The troll growled as he rolled his eyes. "Wha' do I look like, da message boy?" He snarled. "Many of da d'ings dat d'ey talk about ain't discussed with da rest of us too often, so how am I supposed ta know? Why don' cha go up an' find out for ya-self, old one?"

Malfurion wasn't very bothered by the troll's curt attitude, being his age he had seen it many times. His eyes drifted back up to the ziggurat, still unsure about what he was told but very anxious to find out what was going on.

"Ya gonna lemme go or what?" He asked as he tried to struggle out from underneath the druid's wooden arcane staff.

Malfurion simply sighed before he reluctantly released the troll. As he stood up, he watched out from the corner of his eye as the troll seemed to quickly shuffle to his feet as if he was going to break into a run, though all he did when he stood straight was harshly tug and straighten the shirt underneath his armor. "I'd watch myself next time, Night Elf, 'cause ya may not be so lucky." The troll just continued to look at him with narrowed eyes as he roughly turned away to return to his post.

Not at all shaken by the troll's threat, Malfurion simply turned and headed toward the ziggurat. On the way, he discovered that the Blood elves had taken homage into their lands as well. Structures other than those of Night elven design were set wherever they would be able to be built. He was surprised to see the Night elves, the Orcs, and the Blood elves walking among one another with no to hardly any controversy. It looked as though it were part of their duties to them. Not one of the Horde or of the Blood elves spoke as he passed them, only any Night elf that saw him gave their greetings and welcomes, all of which he gratefully returned.

When he came to the large double doors of the ziggurat, he didn't have to say his name to the guards for the entrance to be opened for him. With a smile toward the gentlemen guards, he eagerly entered and made his way into Tyrande's quarters where several people stood. Malfurion didn't say a word as the others looked at him in silence. His eyes soon fell upon his beloved priestess, who stood at her desk with three other people who looked to be humans and was strategizing ways of a certain attack using something on her desktop. He only heard a few mutters of her voice towards the humans before she looked up to the entrance and at the sight of her eyes, he smiled.

All it took was a glance towards Malfurion to make glee and excitement very evident in her eyes, even though she tried to hold her rather posh composure for the people around her. At the sight of her love's charming smile, Tyrande abandoned he wide wooden desk and strode (in a rather hasty fashion) towards him. She wrapped her arms around his broad, taut shoulders and gripped the fur shall that covered his back as if afraid he was going to slip away again.

"Malfurion…" She whispered dreamily against his shoulder as she let her head lie upon it. She sighed as she felt his strong arms wrap around her in return. "It feels like an eternity since I've seen you. I've missed you so. I…" Tyrande seemed to have momentarily forgotten where she was as she seemed to hesitate before she continued; it was better to say what she had wanted to at a time that they would be more alone. "My heart is relieved to see that you've come back."

As Malfurion kept his arms tightly around her, his sunlight-golden eyes drifted across the back of the room to the different faces, both the familiar and the new. Once he had taken all those faces in, he finally let his eyes close and held Tyrande the way that always seemed to fill his heart with affection. After a few seconds, which both wished would have been several instead of a few, the two Night Elves finally let go, although the high priestess of the moon still held her arms around his neck while feeling his hands gently laying on her waist.

"Was your quest of healing the forests successful?" Tyrande asked softly.

Malfurion nodded as he decided to release her waist and take a step back so that he could report more appropriately. "Yes. Many forests and much of them were badly damaged by flames. I did what I could to heal as much as possible and I was indeed successful in doing so. However, I know that I'm far from done, but I felt it was time for me to come back."

At the charming smile that his love gave him while he spoke, Malfurion felt his heart melt, making him reluctant to avert his attention to other matters but he knew that he must. "I see that much has happened during my absence; orcs, trolls, blood elves and humans freely roaming about our sacred grove. I certainly hope that there is a reason for this." He spoke more in the form of a question instead of a statement. Right when he had mentioned the different races, he noticed that his love was already trying to find the right words to explain more easily. So he held his hands in front of him and calmly waited and listened to Tyrande's words.

Like Tyrande at this point, Mina hoped that she would get through her explanation as soon as possible so that they would continue discussing how they would stop the group of undead that Sophitia had warned them about less than an hour ago. Sophitia had also whispered her suspicions to Kilik, Taki, Siegfried and herself of Astaroth being their head and guider and Mina wasn't exactly willing to fight another hideous group of undead again much less fight Astaroth, even though she remembered him being dead anyway. Kilik, however, seemed frighteningly eager to do it; he gripped his staff rather tightly when he heard the name 'Astaroth'.

Turning to thoughts away from this and onto the two Night Elves at the doorway, she became surprise at Malfurion's noticeable muscle at his age. She leaned towards Naisha next to her, who stood next to Maiev, as could be predicted. "Who's he supposed to be?" She asked in a low tone.

Naisha repeated Mina's action in the same tone. "Malfurion Stormrage, an Arch-druid as well as Tyrande's love, as you can see. His rank and experience surpass even that of Tyrande's and he is very wise so we are very fortunate to have him here now."

"Umn-hmn." Maiev broke in curtly. "Knowing that, let's hope that his decisions are wiser than whatever Tyrande's may be." She added only to receive a brief look from her first lieutenant; Naisha knew that she was referring to the mistake Tyrande had made of releasing Illidan all those years ago. Mina on the other hand, had no idea had no idea what she was talking about so she said nothing and kept her curiosity to herself.

Her eyes drifted across the room to the people within it, using that to pass the time while they waited for Tyrande to finish: Sophitia leaned over the desk as she analyzed while Taki leaned against the wall behind the chair of the desk, her eyes upon the map as well although they didn't seem very focused, just deep in thought yet again. The two Night Elves next to her stood near the bookshelf close to another edge of the desk while Jaina and Thrall seated themselves closer to the doorway in front of the bookshelf on the opposite wall. Kilik's original intentions were to stay as far away from Thrall as possible, remembering their history together when the Orc kept him as a prisoner. But now holding the possibility of Astaroth coming close to him, he was up at the desk and eagerly studying the map.

Siegfried, who stood motionlessly in a corner of the room, had not spoken a word since the start of the meeting. He chose not to wear his chest plate or leg armor for the passed couple of days so all that he wore now was a ragged brown shirt, pants of a darker hue and gauntlets. Many thought of him as brave for removing most of his armor since it could be dangerous to let down his guard completely in an area where people would find much difficultly in trusting him. Though Mina did noticed, once or twice, that Siegfried's eyes would quickly glance from the people at the desk to the blonde sorceress in the front of the room, seated next to the Orc warchief.

Finally, after one last brief whisper from Malfurion and Tyrande's nod, the arch druid glanced up at the blonde warrior, studied her for a moment then walked up to Sophitia, noticing a large map of Kalimdor rolled out upon it. Placing his hand on his chest, he bowed slightly. "My apologies if I seemed a little… inhospitable with my silence when I first entered," He raised himself to meet her eyes. "I was merely alarmed because if the Night Elves had allowed or asked for the aid of all these races of the Horde and the Alliance, then the matter must be serious. I see that that is obvious now by what Tyrande has told me about Arthas and this 'Soul Edge'."

"We haven't asked for aid from the Alliance just yet." Tyrande interjected calmly. "The only part of the Alliance that has joined us is Ms. Proudmoore. She came by my request."

Malfurion looked up to find Jaina in front of him. Beneath her hood, she gave a welcoming smile and a small wave of "hello". Malfurion smiled and nodded once in return before he turned to the other surrounding humans. "Ah yes, the others are from the 'Outer Lands', a very interesting feat for you five to find a way here much less know that Azeroth exists." He stated with a look of interest towards Sophitia. "I'm relieved that the Alliance hasn't come yet, not only because Ashenvale is so populated now, but – and forgive me Ms. Proudmoore for saying this – also because we know that they would create even more controversy which that easily can become hostile, and, if I may speak for all Night Elves, we do not wish to have our grove be used as any type battleground unless it is for the purpose of defending it." He finished in a soft, calm voice that also had an essence of power and wisdom, something that Tyrande had always loved about him.

Jaina simple nodded and waved her hand in a gesture to tell him that it wasn't personal. "I understand completely; I know many of the leaders of the Alliance can be that way, especially after the way the Orcs, Night Elves, Humans and the Undead have been divided now." She spoke simply, referring to the Horde/Alliance agreement where the Night elves, Blood elves and the Humans were partners and the Orcs, Trolls and even the Undead were partners. As she referred this, Thrall noticed that Jaina had chosen to not look at him at all. This made him become worrisome over what she may be thinking of him.

"The population that we once had was astounding, Malfurion, and that great sum was needed against… against a great force that we had encountered." Tyrande commented, breaking Thrall from his reverie which he was very much grateful for; it was best not to dwell on what had occurred in him at this point in time.

However, the focus point had changed from Jaina and Thrall to Seigfried, since the knight knew that Tyrande was referring to him. He wasn't offended as he knew thing like this would occur, when he would be put in awkward and, many times, remorseful situations. ''Guess I should be grateful that she didn't gesture towards me somehow, the 'great force'.' Siegfried thought as he looked down to the stone-tiled and leaf-sprinkled ground. Glancing up to the sorceress once again, (this time to see if she realized the same as he had) he found her deep blue eyes to be looking directly into his own, making his abruptly fall again in embarrassment. 'I guess that answer's my question.' Siegfried thought as he tightly shut his eyes.

"Speaking of forces, we still need to figure out how to stop or at least slow the next wave." Sophitia spoke up, wanting desperately to return to what they had been discussing before Malfurion had entered.

"If it is only a small group from Arthas, I doubt we'll need to think of them as a threat; at the first sight of followers from the Scourge, any of the people living in colonies along the east coast will fight to eliminate the threat." Thrall spoke up gruffly. He was careful in choosing his words about who it would be that would fight; if he included Orcs _and_ Night elves, he could predict what Jaina would be feeling: confusion, distrust, anger… and if he didn't include the elves, well, it just wouldn't be smart seeing as to how he was being surrounded by them, and especially when the rather short-tempered Maiev was in the room.

"And I have no doubt of that." Sophitia responded calmly before she looked down. "It's just that, I want to see what they look like, what we're up against, even if it is a small group. I know that you've all seen and battled against Arthas' undead, but since we are new to your world, it would be best for us to familiarize ourselves with them a little more so that we may recognize their weaknesses." As Sophitia explained, she knew that what she really wanted to find out about Arthas' power was whether he could really raise people from the dead like he might have done with Astaroth.

If he did have that kind of power and an undead Astaroth really was coming after them, then that makes things much more difficult and a lot more worrisome; if he could kill a living person in battle and have them back on their feet and at his side as a mindless zombie… Sophitia didn't dare think of what he could do if he managed to kill off an entire brigade.

At her side far across the table, she heard a skeptical scoff. "First off," Maiev started as she crossed her arms over her armored chest, "If all you want is a description and the knowledge to recognize them, then all you need is this: they're not pretty-faced." The warden spoke curtly, although she was backed by Mina's slow nod and disgusted expression as the memory of the last time she saw and fought against them came into her head. "Secondly, you sound like you want to take a look at them even before they reach shore, and if I'm correct on that (and I have no doubt that I am), that's a little too far-fetched of a wish, don't you think?" Her tone was almost tyrannical yet could easily imply that she was accusing Sophitia of being an amateur warrior. "And why wait for them to come here to find out what they are like when you can just ask the knight over there? I'd think that he'd know rather well how the mindless minions work."

There was a brief moment of silence as Siegfried raised his head to give Maiev a resentful eye. He knew, everyone knew – apart from Malfurion, who was studying both Maiev and Siegfried with a look of curiosity and vague interest – that the warden was getting back at him and the things he had done by humiliating him. Neither Sophitia nor Jaina found this humorous at all.

"What are you talking about, Maiev?" Malfurion questioned, looking at her with subtle suspicion. When Maiev stayed silent and turned her eyes away from the arch druid with a smug look on her face, Malfurion nearly asked again in a less patient tone when Tyrande spoke next to him in a dull tone.

"Perhaps he can tell you at a time when it is more comfortable." Tyrande suggested, watching as Malfurion's mossy green-haired head turned slightly towards her. "There are other things I must tell you anyway, but not now." Tyrande's long aqua eyebrows lifted as if asking him if it was okay, and he nodded as he turned back to Sophitia.

"Anyway," He cleared his throat, giving Siegfried one last glance which the knight easily noticed and had already known that he had a long night ahead of him. "If you wish to reach the eastern shoreline that greatly, then a hippogryph would be the most volacious means of travel for you."

A low, pitiful whimper was barely heard near the back of the room. Everyone who was near the source turned towards it to find Mina with her head resting against her zanbatou, her eyes tightly shut with a pained expression on her face. Great, just the type of schedule that she wanted; fly one of those huge, oddly formed birds, soaring hundreds of feet from the ground for who knew how long then wait for the sacs of skin, bones and evil magic to come and fight with their grotesquely rotting hands grasping for her throat.

"Perhaps she can remain here if she doesn't want to go." Naisha suddenly stated in more of the form of a question towards Tyrande and Malfurion. Of course, this brought some subtle discomfort in Maiev; why didn't she ask her own superior and mentor that question? Sure, Tyrande and Malfurion (by the guiding hand and approval of the ever-wise guardian and demi-god of the forests, Cenarius) had founded the many new laws and regulations of the forests of modern day, but she was a warden hand-chosen by Malfurion himself to be the jailor of his own brother! She knew the codes of law better than anyone, save the founders themselves of course. So why did her own first lieutenant feel so disinclined to ask her, simple question though it may be.

Maiev also noticed in the corner of her eye that Naisha seemed to be smiling slightly as she turned her attention from Mina to the Night Elf couple that stood some distance away in front of her. The warden's rare, bright-green eyes narrowed into glowing slits behind the eye-holes of her dark metal helmet. She leered at the young human who now seemed to have a very hopeful look in her eyes after hearing Naisha's proposal. 'Exactly what is it about this… this _human_ that makes Naisha smile like that?' She wondered, wanting so much to know the answer that she would even spend hours searching through tomes and lore if she had to. Just to know a hint of how to give a person she admired for their skills, integrity, leadership, understanding… well, then again how to give the _only_ person she admired for _anything_ a feeling of happiness even if it was a minimal as a small smile.

Her eyes nearly closed as she felt a purring deep within her chest at the thought: She soon found herself being lost in a fantasy in which Naisha and she were alone and, frankly, Maiev didn't care where. And in response to Maiev's uncharacteristically sweet compliment towards her (something that Maiev herself wished she knew), Naisha found herself unable to look Maiev in the eyes as a blush overtook her cheeks and a wide smile that she couldn't control crossed her lips. After catching a few glances from Naisha, Maiev got tired of waiting for her to fully look at her and took matters in her own hands by taking Naisha's chin in between her fingers. Upon seeing the rather whimsical look in Naisha's eyes as they finally landed upon her own, the warden had an urge to gently pull Naisha's full, soft lips to her own. This fantasy was so in-depth that Maiev could even feel Naisha's warm breath caress her own lips as she brought the meek lieutenant closer to her…

"Of course she can stay, if she wishes. And we are expecting you who are leaving to come back and report on the strength of this force and perhaps any evidence like letters concerning Arthas. We would like to make sure that these forests are and will remain at least as safe as possible from corruption." Malfurion stated firmly.

'Damn-IT!' Maiev cursed in her head, wishing Malfurion would have given her the pleasure of having at least seven more seconds to herself. She tried desperately to hold in the angry growl of aggravation she wanted to let out.

"We will make sure to do that." Taki stated simply, followed by a nod from Kilik and Sophitia since the three of them were the only ones willing to go.

"I'll have the hippogryph master saddle up and ready your rides for you. Perhaps I will send one of my own sentinels along with you as an escort as well." Tyrande noted before leaving to collect a worthy sentinel willing to escort them.

"How long will this take, may I ask?" Sophitia spoke up as Tyrande was nearly passed her own double-doors as if asking her was suddenly a last minute decision.

Tyrande turned to her and blinked, making her moonlit eyes cease their glow for a split-second beneath her eyelids. "No less than half-an-hour, perhaps?" She estimated then left as she saw Sophitia's satisfied nod.

Taki's eyes stayed on Sophitia for what seemed like a long while. 'Why did she want to know how long it would take for us to leave?' She wondered, since Sophitia didn't seem the type to become impatient with long waits.

Sophitia was silent for the long moment until she finally spoke in a rush and a rather soft voice as if she didn't care whether people heard her or not. "For the time being I guess I'll go collect a few things for the ride there."

When Sophitia went passed the door frame, Taki decided to follow. She stopped at the frame, letting herself lean against one of the sides and ignoring the glances from the two guards as her eyes followed Sophitia's form through the grounds and around buildings until she reached the woods. Taki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Sophitia disappeared within them. 'What is she doing?' She pondered.

888

"You disobeyed me."

Sharlindra jumped slightly as she heard the shadowy, disapproving voice of her queen behind her. The banshee turned to the dark figure that stood motionlessly next to a rotting, mossy tree. "N-no, I didn't. I would never disobey you, my queen. I was just merely-"

"-Didn't trust my word." Sylvanas finished for her with her same stolid expression and blood-red eyes boring into her. "I do not need protection, Sharlindra. Do not attack anyone, at least not without my consent. True, no one else suspects us living within these forests just yet, but we do not need to gather attention by killing one of the 'outer land' humans now." She pointed firmly.

Sharlindra bowed her stringy-haired head. "I apologize, by queen. It will be my first and last time to not trust your instincts and perception. I just can't bring myself to believe a human's word."

"You don't have to. As I've said before, the only reason I'm allowing her to live is because I find her proposal and interesting one. I want to see if she'll actually try to fulfill it." Sylvanas seemed to have a look of slight interest in her eye.

Sharlindra held in her frown of disapproval and disbelief; she didn't believe that this human young female's strength was potent enough to actually make her auspicious. Then she remembered the light that emitted from her sword and shield as well as the power that had come forth soon after when she had ambushed her. "She is a priestess of the Light, is she not? She must be…"

"She isn't." Sylvanas asserted with a convinced doubtlessness.

Sharlindra looked back up at her questioningly. "But… but her sword, I saw it-"

"Her weapons are divine, she's not." The banshee queen interrupted again with the same tone as before.

"Should this make her dangerous, her divine weapons?"

"At first, I would have said no. But after seeing the amount of anger she can utilize over small things that may seem much bigger to her, I can only say that it is a small offense that I'm willing to observe." Sylvanas stated, pausing slightly as she seemed to take some consideration into the question.

Sharlindra paused as well as something else came into mind, something more worth calling attention to. "My queen…" The banshee started. "What of Varimanthras?"

Sylvanas turned to look at her slightly over her shoulder as she asked in a dulled tone, "What of him?"

Sharlindra pulled back slightly, surprised that Sylvanas wasn't bothered at all. "You have been gone for quite a few days, my lady. He was the only one appointed for monitoring the rebuilding within the ruins of Lorderon. Don't you think he'll become suspicious of your long absence? What if he discovers what your intentions have truly been? If he does, he may surely accuse you, use it against you in front of all of your loyal subjects and militia, or… or even try to overthrow you with this evidence!" Her eyes emphasized her fearful tone; she couldn't bear the thought of losing her beloved queen.

Much to Sharlindra's great surprise, her undead queen only laughed. "Please Sharlindra! Spare me such nonsense. Varimanthras knows well that my private business is not always his own as well. He may be my vizier, but that doesn't give him the right to know all of what I do outside of Tristfall Glades." She stopped only to let herself lean against the tree next to her again, casting her eyes away from Sharlindra's. "Furthermore, beneath his intimidating size he's nothing but a cur; he kills his own brothers to save his own neck. If my own body ever fell into the hands of humans, demolishing my power and mettle, he would be the first one to flee to safety." She laughed coldly.

Sharlindra shook her head slightly, making her aged locks flail slowly around her face. "He's not like that now, which is why I fear for you. He's become less fearful of his life since he devoted himself to your will. At least that is how he seemed since the Forsaken had first been forged."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that he's completely lost his ability to run with his tail between his legs." By Sylvanas' tone, it could easily be deduced that her hatred towards dreadlords had remained unchanged since even before she had be sired by Arthas.

The thought of the death knight's name had struck Sharlindra as well. She remembered when Sylvanas had last returned from him and soon realized something; she wondered how Sylvanas could think that a girl, who is not only new to these lands but is younger and much less experienced, would be able to defeat Arthas when she herself has had nothing but failed attempts at assassination. Sylvanas had said that she would play 'ally' with Arthas until the moment was right, so of course she refused any sort of help from the Forsaken as she knew that Arthas would immediately suspect the banshee queen's real intentions. Sharlindra hoped that her Dark Lady wasn't losing her strength against Arthas whenever perfect times of assassination would show.

"If it still makes you concerned," Sylvanas broke her banshee out of her reverie. "You can go back and keep an eye on the dreadlord for any suspicious activity. Report to me only when absolutely necessary." A crack of a knowing smile crossed her dark lips. "Besides, being surrounded by all this living wildlife for so long has surely brought your nerves to wits' end."

As if on queue, both banshees turned as they heard the crunching of leaves a small distance away from them. A full-grown buck strode passed them with only a couple of trees breaking their view from it. It seemed oblivious to their presence. At a somewhat greater distance away

"I knew you'd be with _her_."

Sophitia spun around only to find Taki behind her, a horrible glare in her eyes as she looked at Sylvanas. The Greek was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say until she finally forced herself to speak. "H-how did you know?" She asked weakly.

Taki slowly came closer to her as she spoke, "You just seemed in such a hurry when you left. And since you went out to the woods, I wondered what kind of matters you could possibly have in the forest so late at night. So I figured you went to go see that "reliable source" of yours." She explained simply, not taking her eyes off of Sylvanas as if expecting her to suddenly lash out and attack the both of them.

"Taki…" Sophitia called softly, making Taki look at her from the corner of her eye. "I'm not doing anything traitorous or deceitful just because I'm with Sylvanas." Taki could tell from Sophitia's eyes that the Grecian was worried about what Taki might actually be thinking of her.

"It's not that I don't trust you of doing anything villainous or treacherous," Taki looked back at Sylvanas, who seemed unmoved by the conversation. "It's just that I don't trust _her_ at all. She's undead, Sophitia! She's what we're trying to destroy!"

"No, she's not. She wants Arthas and his legion to be destroyed as well." Sophitia interrupted as calmly yet as firmly as she could.

Taki's eyebrows furrowed. "How can you let yourself be pulled into her fraudulent words? How do you know that she really does want Arthas killed? What if she doesn't? What if she's just another of Arthas' murderous subordinates and is just leading you to him so that you may actually be a sacrifice in his honor?" Taki exclaimed, her anger growing.

Upon hearing the demon huntress call her a subordinate of Arthas, Sylvanas' eyes narrowed and had it in mind to put her newly polished dagger to use. "She wouldn't do that. If she did, she would have done so long ago." Sophitia defended again. Taki paused briefly, realizing the truth in Sophitia's words.

"Perhaps…" Taki turned her eyes to look at Sylvanas fully. "So then what could you really be planning, spawn of darkness? Using us as pawns so that we may actually fend off his army of undead until all that is left is him? Hope that we'll leave him to you so that you may overthrow him and take his throne?" Taki noticed very easily that Sylvanas' red eyes narrowed into slits again. This made Taki smile some beneath her mask. "Yes, surely you would want that. Then, I'm sure you'll have whoever's still on your side to attack what's left of us, what's left of the living, so that all you'll have left is your power, your throne, your subjects, a blood-soaked city, and your grotesquely rotting body." She finished with her smile still intact, watching, waiting for the undead creature before her to do something that would prove that she had been correct all along.

Sylvanas, who was fuming inside, paused for a brief moment before her face twisted into what looked like spiteful hatred. "You should be proud. You're exactly like the other conceited, misunderstood, pretentious, self-exalted, insolent, wretched, abominable, servile and despicable humans that my followers try so hard on killing off." Her slender fingers idly felt around the hilt of her dagger. "If I weren't trying to stay low and hidden in these woods, I would have been more than happy to add you to our list of most favorable and most pleasurable kills." She finished with a sneer.

Taki only quirked an eyebrow, not seeming threatened at all. In fact, she seemed a little amused yet satisfied at the same time; she had been waiting for Sylvanas to threaten her just like she had because that was all the proof she needed for her theory to be correct. "Is that so?" She responded curtly. "Then it surprises me that the only thing that stops you from killing me is so that you wouldn't be discovered. Because frankly, I'd think that a hellborn, accursed, serpentine, damnable, atrocious adversary of all that is demonic and immoral would not only take the chance to kill me, but would willingly give into the thrill of killing Sophitia and any of the patrolling sentinels in this forest." She declared with an icy confidence in her eyes and voice.

Sylvanas' lip curled in scorn. 'She's right.' She admitted to herself. Though, the only thing that willed her not to kill the over-confident human before her was the now wide-eyed, silent human that stood next to her. This feeling surprised her as well because she didn't know why she kept herself under control for Sophitia. 'Perhaps… because I'm less willing to kill Sophitia than I am for Taki. If I kill Taki now, I know I must then kill Sophitia as well because not only will she have witnessed me kill another human that she also happens to have affections for, but she will either want to kill me in revenge (which, in all honesty, I'm not too sure whether I will win the battle or not, considering the amount of power she has in those weapons of hers and the amount of rage she holds; she's not exactly one to be taken very lightly) or she'll run away and have masses of search groups come for my head. And I won't be able to kill Sophitia because I still want to see how she'll fulfill her promise.'

Sylvanas cursed herself for being tied down so tightly, but she knew that she had no choice. She let her fingers finally let go of her dagger and folded her arms across her chest. "You would think that, wouldn't you? Contemptible and vile human that you are!" She spat in her same shadowy voice.

"Interesting that you call me "contemptible" and "vile" when you're the one who willingly let herself become engulfed by the darkness!" Taki shouted back, her fist clenching and her teeth grinding.

"Taki stop it!" Sophitia finally spoke up in a whisper while moving closer to Taki and placing her hands on her arm as though to physically hold her back.

"I WON'T!" With a face contorted with rage, Taki had turned so sharply and shouted so loudly that Sophitia jumped much more strongly in fright than whenever her eyes had met the ominously blood red ones of Sylvanas. Taki's words could be heard echoing above them through the forests. Acknowledging both that and the frightened visage Sophitia's face took on (as well as noticing that Sophitia had reflexively jerked her hands away from her) Taki's angered gaze almost immediately went to slight surprise as though she had just realized her own mistake.

Sophitia looked like she had been slapped across the face, and that made Taki's eyes soften apologetically. Not knowing what to do or say to recompense, Taki only forced herself to look away in shame to the ground in front of her. Her eyes darted as her head slowly shook once as though confused as to whether she should look back to Sophitia or keep her eyes locked onto the ground. "I… I won't." She repeated in a much softer tone and chose to keep her eyes on the ground. After a few silent minutes that seemed more like hours, she was about to open her mouth to say more when Sylvanas interceded with another eye-roll.

"Just so that we could finish up our previous conversation, Sophitia, I thank you in telling me your whereabouts for, perhaps, the next twenty-four hours. I shall wait here for you, as discussed, and I will hope to hear a report from you whenever you come back." Sylvanas finished quickly, as the subtly poignant glances between the two human were starting to both bore and nauseate her slightly.

As Sylvanas had jumped into the trees and bounded from limb to limb back to her hovel with only the sounds of leaves brushing against her and twigs breaking, Taki quickly turned to Sophitia again but this time with a look of shock and disbelief.

"You told her what we were doing? Where we are going?" Taki asked in an almost scolding voice but tried to keep herself as calm as possible this time, though it was quite difficult.

Sophitia's eyes darted as she fumbled for the correct words. "Um, well, I…. I did, yes… but I guess then again that she doesn't know where we are going since even we don't know where Tyrande's having those hippogryphs take us. And besides, she said it herself that she wouldn't come anyway because to keep herself from being seen while flying through the sky is quite difficult." Sophitia explained in a rather fast pace, wanting to get through it quickly knowing that Taki would most likely scold her again eventually.

Taki, however, remained silent as she looked at Sophitia, then turned to head back onto the beaten path. "I kind of wish she would come." Taki mumbled, though Sophitia could hear her and looked at her in stunned surprise. "Because then I can keep an eye on her. I don't trust her, Sophitia, I can't. She's a demon, capable of doing the vilest things to people whether deserve it or not. It wouldn't surprise me if she was planning something vile for you, that's why I don't like the idea of her being in the same region as us." Taki paused, her eyes never leaving the ground she was about to walk upon. "I don't want her to touch you." She murmured though Sophitia had heard her once again and all she could do was remain silent as her eyes stayed fixed on the side of Taki's stolid face.

Sophitia had many things to say about Sylvanas, things that had made the Greek grow to believe her; she had made her own banshee stop from killing Sophitia just a few hours ago, she had rained fiery arrows down upon the very same demon that not only Taki and herself where trying to destroy but the four other races as well, and most of all, how she had broken down into angry tears when she remembered how Arthas had forced her into the darkness and disintegrating her very own soul. However, she had gotten the feeling that Taki was in no mood to hear any of it.

Once they had finally crossed onto the footpath, an awkward silence fell upon them; Taki simply kept her gaze forward with her arms crossed over her stomach while Sophitia, who strode a little behind the other woman's side, let herself glance towards the side of Taki's face while seemly folded her arms behind her back.

At a certain insightful thought, Sophitia let a smile graze her lips as she murmured, "I'm glad you're being so protective of me."

There was a small pause that seemed like a hesitation on Taki's part. The huntress's head fell slightly. "That protectiveness may have been the best I've been able to do for you so far…" She uttered so softly that the Greek almost thought it was meant to be inaudible to her ears.

'What does she mean by that?' Sophitia wondered as she gazed at the side of Taki's face for a moment. "What do you mean?" She finally voiced out.

Taki seemed to take her time in answering as she only released a soft sigh and rubbed her nape with her palm as though regretting to speak her response. "I… I know I haven't been very good at… repairing everything you say we… once had." She paused again, refusing to look at Sophitia's face. "And I'm sorry about that. I figured that was why you've been a little distant for the last couple of days: that I was simply… putting off our relationship… I wish I knew how to do these things right, but…"

"But you simply don't know how." Sophitia interceded as she made herself catch up to Taki's face so that she could at least try to make Taki look at her. "And I know that's how you are; being alone for most of your life can do that to a person. But that's exactly why I want to help you stand up against this fear of being with someone… of being with… me." Her voice became softer and softer as she spoke. She almost wanted to take Taki's hand in both of her own, pressing her well-muscled arm into her chest to hold her close, but she held herself back for the other woman's sake, knowing she would be uncomfortable.

However, much to her surprise, her almost all her hopes were carried out by Taki's quick hand instead: "I'm not afraid of being with you." The slightly taller girl confessed as her hand almost reflexively snapped to Sophitia's arm just above her wrist, making them both stop in their walk. Taki seemed almost intrepid by her action with a determined look in her soft eyes. That is, until Sophitia's eyes landed on hers a few seconds afterwards; she could feel an unsure blush rise to her cheeks and she was thankful that she had her mask to hide it. Nonetheless, Taki still looked away and let go of Sophitia's wrist and took a slow step back as she composed herself. "I'm just afraid of not… of not doing what is required of me." Taki's eyes took a great interest in everything except Sophitia as she spoke.

"Required of a lover?" The younger girl's tone and eyes were knowing yet inquisitive as she took a small step towards Taki, her head slightly tipped to a side.

Taki almost cringed but, with much effort, forced herself to hide it; why did Sophitia have to keep using that word? Whether she'd utter or hear it, it would always make her fluster uncontrollably. Having not gathered her composure completely yet, Taki only made herself nod. Was what this girl had said about the both of them really true? Or was Sophitia as well as Mina just exaggerating the relationship they might have really had?

In the middle of her thoughts, Taki only watched as the other woman wrapped both arms around one of her own, holding it tightly to her chest. The taller woman held back her blush fairly well as she felt the warm skin of Sophitia's chest against that of her upper arm. She found herself having troubles to _not_ look into Sophitia's soft, gentle and patient aventurine eyes.

"Nothing is required of you, Taki; it is me who is required to do anything, and that is to help you during those times that you seem unsure. And for the delay these passed few days…" Sophitia let out a somewhat saddened sigh as she chose to avert her eyes to the side before continuing, "It's my fault, not yours; I wasn't around for you to do anything and please forgive me for that. I had become more focused on the sudden matters within Ashenvale, between the Night Elves and the Orcs and their restive controversies, as well as those rumors that there really was no threat concerning Arthas and the undead."

Sophitia paused for a moment as she realized something else. "It was my fault also because, knowing the way you were before the… before the _incident_ with your memory," She remarked almost bitterly at the memory of the event of first finding out Taki's current condition. She wanted to be the one who had killed the person who did this to Taki and her; though she already knew Sylvanas did the job for her. It was the only time that she really wanted to take a person's life and although it did frighten the more innocent part of her, she knew no one else would blame her. "I guess I was stupid enough that I'd assumed that you would just figure out how to perform gestures of love on your own, without my help, since you were normally the one to do them more often then me, whether we were traveling or not." She finally finished, still holding Taki's arm while still looking away, afraid that the demon huntress would become angry with her for assuming such things.

There was a long pause until Taki finally brought up the courage to ask, "What was I like before? When I had as much affections for you as you say?" She tried to start up a slow walking pace, so that they would at least make some progress to getting to the Hippogryph Flight Master.

With surprised eyes that eventually softened to a thankful fondness, Sophitia looked at her for a moment before responding. "You… well, you were… so many things, really." A smile and a shade of light pink began to appear on her face as she looked down periodically while she made a list. "You were romantic, passionate, charismatic, playfully spontaneous and capricious…" Knowing that there were more words to describe the Taki she once knew, she continued to think up more as she looked up to the other woman with slight curiosity as to what she thought of it so far.

In response to Taki's facial expression, she almost laughed; the demon huntress took on several reactions at once: confusion, curiosity, disbelief, shock, to name a few. Her eyes didn't change as they drifted from Sophitia's eyes onto the vine-convoluted ground in front of them. She seemed to think for a moment before softly shaking her head. "I can't picture myself being any of those things…" Confusion now seemed to be the reaction that dominated the others as she tried to search for explanations. She couldn't find any.

Sophitia let out a giggle from deep within her throat as she ran her hand along the skin of Taki's arm once, an action that nearly had a reaction of goosebumps though Taki herself seemed too deep in-thought to notice. "Believe me Taki, you were most _certainly_ that way. At least around me and especially when we were alone." Sophitia tried to hide her bemusedly wide grin since surely Taki would scold her for finding her confusion amusing.

Taki yet again tried to hold in her blush as the words, "when we were alone" echoed in her head. She was almost afraid to find out what she _did_ do when they were alone. Noticing the other woman's slight discomfort, Sophitia tried to ease it as she quickly spoke, "But that's what I loved most about you; I loved how mysterious, ominous and entrancing you were when you'd fight and destroy demons. While on the opposite side, I loved how gentle, charming, and affectionate you were.

The Greek looked back up and was a little relieved to see that Taki's mahogany eyes had softened upon her own. Her hold around Taki's arm tightened. "The only thing I ask of you is to just be patient with this and to understand how I feel."

"But that's just it; I _don't_ understand what _or_ how you feel because I've never _felt_ the things you seem to feel for… for me. I…. I _may _have… according to you… but now…" Taki lowered her eyes in a somewhat disgruntled fashion before her tone became lower, "I just don't know."

Looking at Taki's expression now, Sophitia came to pity her for never experiencing love since before they had met. She hated to see the one she loved look so confused and… lost. She stopped their walk to lift a hand up to Taki's masked cheek, running her thumb over the thick material as Taki softly looked back up to her. The maroon eyes almost spelled out the words "What should I do?" It was the first time that Sophitia had seen her reveal an emotion such as that through her eyes since she was trained to keep her emotions within its cage deep inside herself.

As her thumb went over the red mask, she noticed the outline of Taki's lips again. She had trouble taking her eyes off them until she finally tore her eyes back up to Taki's. "I could… show you… " Her light voice could barely be heard above a whisper. At first, Taki didn't seem to understand what Sophitia was trying to say, but when she caught on by the help of the younger girl's hinting eyes, Taki blushed and looked away.

Taki could feel her heart beating rapidly and her breath becoming shorter at the idea. She had recognized the desire in Sophitia's eyes and in response, anxiety took over. 'As much as I wondered how such an intimate gesture would feel, I… I just can't bring myself to be brave enough to do it. Sophitia might be able to do that, but I… I'm different.' Taki let out an apologetic sigh. "I'm sorry, but I just…" She stopped as she felt the light, delicate hand fall from her cheek.

"It's okay." Sophitia stated in a soft, regretting voice. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have scared you that way." She turned back to the road once again and recommenced her walk.

Taki noted the disappointed look on her face again. Almost as though it was a reflex, she grabbed Sophitia's arm again before she could get too far away from her. But instead of simply holding it like she had done the last time, she pulled. She pulled hard enough for Sophitia's body to swing back and land against Taki's own. Once Taki felt the other girls body pressing firmly against her own, she wrapped both arms around her, holding her there.

Taki's heart was beating wildly even though she tried to stay calm. She could feel Sophitia's own heart beating against her chest and her warm breath which caressed her neck, sending shivers down her spine. It seemed that Sophitia wasn't sure what to do after such a sudden action, so Taki explained, "I-I'm just making up for that hug I didn't return the last time…" She waited until Sophitia responded by wrapping her arms around her neck and resting her chin on Taki's shoulder. "I'm… sorry about that." She admitted in a soft whisper.

"That's alright." Sophitia pressed herself more against Taki's body, her fingers idly touching the curve of her shoulder and her hair. "Just… please, hold me tighter." Taki did as she was asked, keeping an arm around her waist while her other hand moved up to her upper back, making her fingers touch the silk-soft golden hair that she found herself admiring. Though Sophitia found this fulfilling, it still wasn't enough, so she asked one last time, "Tighter…" The huntress obliged again, finding herself becoming more and more nervous as the slow seconds passed. Sophitia released a content, dreamy sigh as she let her face touch Taki's neck, feeling the warmth and safety of her arms envelope her. Oh how she missed this. "Thank you." She murmured, her breath brushing against Taki's skin again.

Unlike the previous time, Taki felt her breath get caught in her throat as she felt the soft warmth of full lips brushing against her neck when Sophitia said the word "you". "Of… Of course." Her voice was the same tone as Sophitia's had been as she was trying to settle her rapidly beating heart. Taki waited for Sophitia to pull away, but apparently it took her a long time to break away from Taki's embrace. When she did, she smiled lovingly at her, making Taki's eyes lock onto her beautiful features. Sophitia's smile soon turned into a grin. "That was your spontaneous and capricious side." She stated with a wink and a finger gently tapping her nose before turning back towards the path with a pleasantly satisfied air around her.

Taki just stood there, watching her, speechless.

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Again, sorry for the long delay, I don't know how long the next chapter will take me since I'm bouncing between three fics at this point, but don't think that I've left this fic so easily :)


	16. The Cursed Souls

Disclaimer: Do not own SC characters or Warcraft characters… shame.

Hello again. Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. It's amazing what 4.5 days of a two-week vacation from school can do to you. I can't tell you how good it felt to get back at a story like this. I love writing fantasy. I hope you all like this chapter, and as the summary said, two new characters are in it. One of 'em comes up pretty quick.

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Chapter 16: The Cursed Souls

It was the dead of night. Raging fires, explosions, collapsing houses, and dead bodies were all that could be seen in a small village of northern Lorderon. The bloody corpses littered the pathways from building to building. Stealing and looting, killing and destroying, the undead rampaged and burned the houses, barns and fields. Men, women, children – nothing was left untaken care of.

A lone farmer stumbled out of his burning house, tears streaming down his face as he watched everything and everybody precious to him be massacred and set aflame. His eyes were too clouded to see where he was going as he nearly ricocheted off of a tall man whose chest seemed to be made of nothing but muscle. At first he was frightened that it might be one of the larger undead soldiers, but the he realized that this man's body seemed whole and not at all decomposed. His stench didn't reek of rotting flesh, like the others of the undead did. The fires blazed wildly behind the tall man, making his features indefinable.

"Please warrior! Please escort me out of this place! I will give you gold! Anything! Just please, guide me to safety!" The farmer pleaded desperately. "If you don't help me, these undead soldiers will kill me and make me one of them!" He was about to cling to the warrior's garments when the warrior himself leaned closer to his face.

"Really?" The taller man droned as he leaned closer. When he got close enough, the farmer was finally able to make out his features. He had a wide grin on his face, his skin was dreadfully pale, and his eyes were pure white like his long hair and mustache. "I suppose you'd better start running then." His white eyes narrowed maliciously.

The farmer was so petrified he could hardly move his legs. When he was able to, he stumbled as he ran towards the forest to freedom. He huffed and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Just as he managed to get passed the wall of trees, he let out a grunt-like yell as he felt steel pierce through his back and tear out through his chest. He looked down at the blade before everything went black. He fell to his knees, then onto his stomach, and the pirate was walking up to him, merely feet away.

Cervantes wrapped his hand around the hilt of his larger sword. "You didn't run fast enough." He roughly pulled the blade from the corpse and turned back to the smoke-filled village. He grinned at the blood that covered the grass and dust. He chuckled as he strolled by bodies that were pinned to the walls of houses with swords, spears, and daggers. He came up to the body of a boy who lay in the middle of a pathway to the village center. The boy was on its stomach, so Cervantes roughly nudged the body onto its back with his boot and stared down at the boy's open, lifeless eyes. He smiled. Adolescent lives were always wasted on childish things.

Cervantes looked up, watching as the undead soldiers carried barrels of grains and wheat and any other crop that they hadn't burned yet to use for either food or trade. He raised his sword. "Warriors,"- all that could hear him turned – "that was a splendid massacre! I am proud by your work tonight!" He called and grinned as the soldier cheered. "Now, bring the meatwagons and load in the bodies! They will make perfect appetizers for the rest of the followers of the Forsaken, don't you agree?" The forsaken soldiers all cheered their approval again as they went to retrieve the meatwagons they had hidden before they ambushed the village.

'Yes…' Cervantes droned again, his eyes slowly closing as he lifted his head to the dark skies. He felt dark power surging in his chest to his arms, then to his hands, and to the hilts of his blades. 'This race will make for a fine army.' He grinned.

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"Where in the world have you two been?" Mina asked with pure perplexity and curiosity on her face as Sophitia and Taki finally approached them. Behind Mina stood Tyrande, Kilik, another night elf which the two had never met before, and four large twittering hippogryphs that were currently picking and cleaning their backs and colorful wings.

"Just walking." Sophitia remarked simply as she stepped closer to Tyrande, murmuring her apologies for her tardiness. They had managed to find a sentinel still at her post and she pointed them in the direction towards Astranaar, where the Tyrande supposedly was waiting for them with the Flight Master.

"Just walking?" Mina looked at her incredulously; there had to be more than that. Then, the Korean noticed the satisfied expression on Sophitia's face. Now Mina's gaze turned incredulous for a completely different reason. Her gaze shifted over to Taki, who, to her surprise, looked a little embarrassed as her chocolate brown eyes looked away. Mina rolled her eyes though in a slightly knowing yet ingenuous way as if to say 'Never mind, I won't ask.'

"The hippogryphs are prepared for your travel." Tyrande stated as she indicated said hippogryphs with a graceful hand. "I will remain here to further administer Ashenvale and the inhabited races, so I shall not be accompanying you. I will send my best hippogryph rider with you in my place. I cannot have outlanders like you ride alone. So when you are ready to mount"—she moved to indicate the green-haired female night elf next to her – "Sylarind will guide you to the ocean."

"Good," Sophitia spoke calmly. "But where is Siegfried? Is he not coming?" She asked after she had looked around the landing/take-off area.

"No." Mina informed. "He said that Astaroth was no business of his, only Arthas and Soul Edge. So he is waiting until he is set to battle either of them." She restated the knight's words.

Sophitia nodded, not exactly surprised. Seigfried's mind was always on just three subjects – his father, Nightmare, and Soul Edge. She didn't necessarily blame him.

"Come back safely." Mina wished Taki, who was about to swing her leg over the hippogryph's back.

Taki looked back at her, surprised and yet, somehow, impressed. "Thank you, Mina. I didn't know you cared for me so much."

Mina raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Well no, it's not really that; it's just that I'm sure you might come pretty close to _die_ing on that thing like _I_ almost did."

Taki felt her eye twitch at the sight of Mina's dangerous smirk. She remembered the time that she had forced Mina onto a hippogryph and she knew that Mina was getting back at her for that. She swung her leg over the winged beast. "Well, thank you for your consideration for my physical health." She said sarcastically.

She and the others went to mount the hippogryphs. It wasn't too much trouble to mount the beasts; the only thing that made it difficult was the knowledge that they were actually mounting and were about ride on huge birds.

Tyrande and Mina gave their 'good luck's and watched as they held onto the reigns and took off. The jerk into the sky was perhaps the hardest part, Tyrande knew. She was relieved to see that none had fallen off.

The sight both below and above was what made the ride worth the jerk: Hundreds of tall, full trees on curving mountains passed beneath them and several beautiful shrines and temples, lakes and rivers could be observed perfectly. The sun was directly in front of them on the horizon and was a perfect spectacle of the different warm colors along the mountains. The winds were like a strong, pleasant breeze as they held on. It was actually an enlightening feeling – to soar almost above the clouds and have the ability to look down at the beauty of earth. Taki briefly wondered why Mina hadn't enjoyed it.

"I will have to teach you how to fly these independently since we will most likely be going into battle." Sylarind explained, slowing down a little so that the others could hear her over the winds. "I am told to take you to Everlook, Winterspring, northeast of here, and then take you east. It's a bit of a ways, so you can practice as we go if you wish. It isn't difficult, yet it isn't all that easy either."

As she explained, Sophitia realized that it was a lot like riding a horse when giving it horizontal directions. The difficult part was the vertical directions – going up and down in elevation. It was a little frightening when one tries to change the elevation; there's always the fear of falling back if going up, or falling forward when going down. With some practice as they flew, they all managed to get the basic idea.

'Maybe that's another reason why Mina didn't like it besides heights – she couldn't direct it properly.' Taki smirked, wishing the Korean girl was near so that she could hear her say this: "She always was slow at things." She murmured to herself. Mina teased her, so she didn't mind teasing her back even if she wasn't around to listen.

Soon, they came close to territory that was quite unlike Ashenvale. The trees were bare and snow blanketed the ground. Bears and strange, small creatures seemed to infest the nearly-dead forests. The coldness of the air didn't bother them, least of all Sophitia – in a way, it was comforting despite how dead the area looked.

They eventually turned east and soared over rocky hills and jagged cliffs until they finally reached the open sea. It was lucky for them that the sun had not chosen to set yet. Otherwise, the four would have been looking down onto waters hidden in total darkness.

"We will just have to search these waters until a ship comes into sight." Sylarind yelled over her shoulder to the other three. "The ship should be easy to identify as it should be the only one that is strong enough to sail through these rough waves."

It seemed like they had flown over the ocean for hours now. The shoreline they had left was hardly visible. Just when Sophitia believed that they must have been on an incorrect path, her eyes finally locked on an object in the ocean.

"Could..." Sophitia hesitated as she spotted something quite unlike anything she had ever seen. "Could that be it?" She yelled over the howling winds to her comrades. She didn't need an answer as her eyes took a more acute analyzation ship, she knew they had found their target.

Ghost Ship was a perfect name for the visage of this vessel. Its sails were torn were the color of soot as they wafted high in the air, pulling the ship through the rough waters. The rotting wood of the ship's deck creaked as the equally aged hull glided with each roll of the massive waves. It was a wonder that the ruined ship managed to stay afloat in the dark aqua-green ocean. It even seemed to leave a dark, ominous mist in its trail along the ocean. It reeked of black magic, of a demonic aura that pulsated through the winds which they soared.

Taki and Kilik weren't bothered so much by the sight of it, but more at what the ship contained: bulging bits of flesh stitched onto each other to form a single repulsive being. There were several of these on this rocking ship. Its stomach seemed to be open for all to see and their limbs were all unproportional to each other and the main body. As Taki looked closer, she noticed that there seemed to be several of these beasts roaming upon all of the ship's decks, sharp weapons clutch firmly in their hands.

Though their hideousness would easily made them be the first ones for anyone's eyes to lie upon, Kilik paid no attention to these beings as Astaroth was the only one his eyes were scanning for. "Do you see him?" He asked in an urgent tone, very ready go into battle with the golem.

Sophitia's eyes searched the decks until finally she caught a figure that was familiar and very unlike the other beings. The physique of said figure was vague yet unmistakable. Something about him seemed different, but Sophitia had no doubts. "I think I do."

"Where is he?" He yelled almost louder than necessary, his lust to avenge the death of his lost comrade and friend Maxi becoming harder to control as he turned to Sophitia, whose hippogryph hovered above him.

"Starboard-bow, but-" Kilik didn't wait for her to finish as he suddenly took total control of his hippogryph and dove in towards the ship. Sophitia was about yell at him to abort whatever he was about to do when suddenly a powerful "_Boom!_" sounded in the air and a dull whistling sound followed.

Before it occurred to Sophitia or Taki what thte source of the sound was, Sylarind expertly flew to them. "It's a cannon! He's spotted us! Scatter quickly!" Within a second, Sylarind directed her mount around the ship to evade their attacks.

Taki and Sophitia were about to follow when a screech came from Kilik's hippogryph. As they scattered, they noticed that Kilik was still airborne, so the hippogryph must have just barely dodged the iron ball. Soon, more booms followed were patches of smoke came at both sides of the ship. A deep laugh could be heard from the deck of the ship.

"Keep firing! Drown them all!" The laughter continued after the deep voice boomed from the deck.

"Get onto the ship and ensnare them! It is the only way you can kill him without having this kind of a threat attacking us!" Sylarind yelled as she went higher up towards the ship's 'crows nest'.

Kilik quickly agreed and moved around the ship in a spiral pattern until he finally came close to the deck. As soon as he reached the edge, he jumped off his hippogryph and landed on the rickety wood of the deck. He looked up into the malevolent, lopsided grin of one of the fleshy monsters. Its horrid stench reached Kilik's nose and he almost choked.

"We been waiting for you." The Abomination laughed, making its open gut shake and more of its insides slipping out through the gap. It swept its sickle towards Kilik's neck, only for it to be quickly countered by his staff. As he looked around, he noticed the other creatures coming towards him with sickles and axes raised. Though now slightly anxious, he made himself wary and on guard against all creatures around him. Just at the right moment, he felt something land next to him and saw a red flash diving into a group of abominations.

"Kill Astaroth!" Taki shouted; a blade in each hand as she sliced through the moving piles of corpses. Keeping her footing was only a small challenge as the ship swayed and rocked in such a way that when the waves crashed against the hull, particles of water would land on the deck and passengers.

Sophitia came down, one iron heel crushing into the chubby face of an abomination whose axe was about to carve Taki's back. "Taki and I will take care of these things!" Her opponent, still slightly dazed, blindly swung at her. She dodged each as it cut through the air until finally it swung its blade straight into the wood of the deck. The abomination wasted its time trying to pull it back out again as Sophitia rammed it hard with her shield until it hit the edge of the boat and fell overboard.

Kilik, more than happy to oblige, dashed between the massive creatures in search of a figure he knew all too well. When he heard the familiar, deep, malicious laugh close by, he moved faster, following the source of the sound. He knew he was coming closer, he could feel him, the evil that radiated from him. Behind him, he felt the pounding footsteps of the abominations that followed him. He felt his arm grabbed by a thick, clammy-skinned hand and his legs be pulled, making him fall to the ground. When he twisted onto his back, he saw a large sickle over him. He pulled up his staff, ready to guard it.

"Stop."

The sickle halted and the creature looked up, confused. Kilik felt a familiar pounding of feet against the wooden floor as another creature stepped closer. He turned his head and gazed up, his eyes falling first on the large scythe in the palm of a large, pale hand, then falling on the golem from his past. Kilik's eyes turned to horror at the sight of him: clear, white eyes now burning red; his back and neck hunched forward, making his backbone poke out through the skin; a large gouge present along the front of his chest; his skin a sickly pale blue; the bone of his jaw lopsided as he was no longer wearing a mask.

Bloodlust raged in his eyes as he looked down at Kilik. A feral grin showed on his slightly deformed jaw. "He's mine." He then looked up at his crew. "Kill the others. Bring their bodies to me when I'm finished with this human." He ordered, gripping his beloved scythe tightly in his hand.

The living pile of corpses reluctantly released its kill and turned towards the two women still valiantly charging at each abomination. Astaroth simply stared as he watched Kilik scramble to his feet and shift into his guarding position. "Hello again, little bug." Astaroth grinned menacingly as he brought his scythe into both of his hands and lifted it towards his chest.

Sophitia guarded yet another swing of an axe at her head. She shouted over her shoulder, "Taki! How do we kill these things! Whenever I think I've struck a vital point, they keep standing back up again!"

"Do what you did!" Taki shouted back, driving her small swords into the chest of another undead monster. "Toss them overboard!" She ripped her swords back out again, noticing that hardly any blood fell from the parted flesh. As the creature swung its portly head back to yell in pain, she quickly slit its neck, making its cry become a gurgling sound. She forced her blades in as deep as she could and quickly carried its deranged body to the side of the ship and pushed it over.

Sophitia ran to the other edge of the ship, letting another abomination follow her. When she turned, she closed her eyes and charged her shield until she felt it heat and vibrate on her arm. When the abomination was at a perfect proximity from her, her eyes flew open as she brought her shield under her, took one step forward and swung her shield up. The creature cried out as it was forced high up over the ship's edge and into the ocean.

Taki looked up at the sound of a blast and was amazed when she saw it was Sophitia. A golden-white aura came from her shield and the demon huntress let couldn't take her eyes off of the warrior goddess-like form of Sophitia and the driven determination in her eyes. 'Is she really in love with me?' She caught herself wondering and she still couldn't believe that the answer was yes.

Taki forced herself to look away as she felt massive footsteps running towards her from behind. Out of pure reflexes, she sheathed both of her swords, and focused her chi into her right fist. When the abomination came close enough, she shrieked and threw the ball of red and orange light to its feet. Power surged and lightning sparked as the abomination was propelled high over her head. She watched as it fell into the water behind her.

Her eyebrows rose as she considered an idea. She turned to Sophitia, who appeared to be looking back at her from the other side of the ship. From the way Sophitia looked at her, she seemed to have the same idea. "I'll take this side and you take that side?" She asked before another abomination came towards her (one that she thought she had already killed, she could tell from the gashes and the arm she had broken).

"Deal." Sophitia shouted back as another abomination came towards her as well. After a few repeated attacks and a few more of the creatures flew overboard, she asked, "Don't you think that they'll eventually catch on?"

Taki smirked as she blew another pile of corpses over the edge. "From their inarticulate words and unbalanced movements, I kind of doubt that." Although at first she didn't know why, she grinned as she heard Sophitia's delicate chuckle. "And anyway, we only have a few more to go." She called as she continued repeating her attack. Who ever thought attacking a horde like this would have been so easy?

Kilik grunted in pain as he hit the wall of the ship; for a rickety-looking ship, the wood felt as hard as a newly-build vessel. He winced and wiped off the blood that fell from his lip with his fist as he got to his feet again, ignoring Astaroth's laugh.

"What's the matter monk? You seem a little weaker than usual." He laughed as he cracked his knuckles and stepped closer to him. He lifted his scythe over his shoulder. "But then again, you always were the weakest of the three of you, that little Chinese wench and that pest of a worm, Maxi." He leaned over the monk, not at all fearing what he might do.

"I won't let you insult them!" Kilik brought up an end of his staff and smashed it against Astaroth's jaw.

Astaroth turned his head back to Kilik and moved his jaw, which was now pushed back into place. His eyes burned with amusement. "Thank you for fixing that." He grinned as he lunged for his neck.

Kilik quickly ducked beneath him then moved to his side. He brought up his staff again and swung it hard against Astaroth's back. Astaroth roared as he swung his scythe from behind him and hit the wall of the boat as Kilik dodged it.

Kilik turned and noticed that the scythe had cut the wooden wall clean in half. As Astaroth tried to pull it back out again, he ran towards the massive brute and kneed him in the side. The force of his run pushed Astaroth away from his gift given to him by Arthas and they both fell to the floor. Kilik used this time to smash Astaroth's face in an end of his staff. Astaroth howled in pain before punched his fist into Kilik's gut.

Stunning Kilik by knocking the wind out of him, he then picked the small boy up and threw him against the wall again. He then got up and went back to his scythe to pull it out.

Kilik coughed as he tried to stand up again using his staff.

"Don't push yourself, little boy!" There was no amusement in Astaroth's tone this time as the golem came towards him and roughly grabbed him at the neck and pushed him to the edge of the bow. With his scythe, he pushed Kilik's head and neck back over the side, making his feet kick up and his hands grab for the neck of the scythe, trying to push it back. His staff had fallen to his feet.

Astaroth now smiled. "Do you like my beloved weapon?" He pushed down on Kilik's neck in emphasis. Kilik choked as he tried to breathe, hearing the waves crash against the boat beneath him. "It was a gift from King Arthas. As you can see, I've had some _good_ practice with it." He stated proudly, referring to the dried blood along the edge of the wide, curved blade.

Kilik made his feet feel around for his staff, trying to ignore the pounding in his head as the blood flow to his head slowed. He finally managed to feel it between his feet.

Astaroth chuckled, believing his legs to still be kicking for freedom. "Squirm all you want, little worm. Your life ends here, and you don't know how long I've waited for this." He put his hand on the monk's chest, pinning him down as he turned his curved blade to Kilik's throat. Astaroth leaned closer. "Say hello to Maxi for me." He whispered, the feral grin back on his face.

At that, Kilik's eyes narrowed in hatred. Just as he was about to flip his staff back up to his feet, he heard a whistling sound coming closer from above. He watched as three arrows landed in Astaroth's back.

Astaroth winced and pulled back, trying to pull the arrows out. Kilik grabbed his staff, brought up an end, and jammed it into Astaroth's open chest. Astaroth looked up at him incredulously. "If you're trying to kill me this way, your attempt was futile." He grinned as he proved his point by pushing the staff deeper into himself until it finally broke through his back, making Astaroth only wince a little but still grin. "For you see, I have become undead."

Kilik smirked, making Astaroth's grin falter. "I see. Well then, I guess I'll have to use another way, huh?" Kilik then ran over to the edge, and jumped, pulling Astaroth over it with him.

Sophitia and Taki were relieved when the last few abominations were left. Taki was especially thankful that there was now enough space for her to do an attack that she had wanted to do a while ago.

"Sophitia! Come here!" She called, taking a few steps closer to the center of the deck floor as Sophitia dodged one of the abominations as came to her. "Put your arms around me." Slightly perplexed for a moment, she quickly obliged. She felt Taki put an arm around her waist. "Don't let go and stay still."

Before Sophitia could ask, Taki yelled something in her language and raised her hand. Suddenly, their entire world seemed to have turned into a bluish hue until she realized that Taki had placed them under a protective dome. The dome seemed to expand until it touched something, making it burn. It ran through the abominations, burning their flesh. Sophitia couldn't stand to look as the bones were revealed and organs and acids burned onto the floor.

She looked up at Taki, whose eyes and face looked lost in concentration. She even seemed to be breathing faster. The blonde became worried when she saw the huntress's face contort into pain until, finally, Taki let go. The dome dissipated and Taki and she looked around. All that was left was burnt flesh. The floor was unscathed, though the bottom of one of the two masts was burned away.

"How did you do that?" Sophitia asked in wonder. She continued to hold Taki in her arms.

Taki looked down at her with small but somewhat weary smile. "It wasn't easy. It's always hard to keep that shield stable. That's one of the reasons I hardly ever use it." She pointed at the half-burned mast. "That's another reason. Everything it passes is either blown or burned away. You can imagine how it looks when it's done in the middle of a forest."

Sophitia just stared at her. "Is that your most powerful attack?" Out of force of habit, she ran her fingers along the curve of Taki's back.

"No." It was only when Taki shivered that she finally realized Sophitia's actions. "Please don't do that."

Sophitia blinked then let her hand fall. "Sorry. I didn't realize I was doing that." She broke away from her.

"At least not here." Taki quickly added as she saw the slight disappointment in her eyes. Sophitia looked up, smiled, and nodded. Taki smiled beneath her mask. Her eyes flew up as she realized where "here" was. "Wait, where's Kilik?" As she finished, she heard another splash. They both ran to the side of the boat and caught a glimpse of what looked to be Kilik's staff.

Sophitia was about to call after her him when colorful feathers went passed her eyes. Sylarind dipped her hand into the rolling waves and pulled out Kilik's body, using the strength of both hands to lay him in front of her on the hippogryph's back.

The two women jumped as they heard a loud '_smash!_' behind them which made the floor beneath their feet vibrate. The turned to find that the mast that Taki's protective shield had blown through had crashed right though the floor and perhaps even through the hull.

"I suggest you two get on before it starts sinking." Sylarind called from the air, pointing at the single hippogryph stationed near the wall of the ship. "Lucky for you that the strongest of the three I'd given you had survived the cannon-fire. He should be able to carry the two of you."

Without hesitation, Taki stepped onto the edge then jumped onto the hippogryph's back. She held her hand out for Sophitia to take and as she guided her on, Taki noticed Sophitia's smile, which was a little wider than before. She also noticed a certain glint in her eyes as she seated herself between Taki's legs.

Taki swallowed as Sophitia kept Taki's hand in her own and brought her arm around her waist and onto her stomach. "I've got the reigns, you hold on to me." Her voice was soft as she turned her head slightly so that Taki could hear.

"Fine." Taki could only murmur as she felt a fluttering in her stomach. 'Stop doing this to me!' She wanted to yell, but found that she couldn't. She didn't want to. For some strange reason, she really didn't want this to stop. She wrapped her other hand around Sophitia's waist and held on as the blonde flew towards Sylarind.

"Is this Astaroth dead?" Sylarind asked as she looked through the aqua waters.

Sophitia turned her hippogryph so that she could see behind her. "I'm not sure."

"How could he still be alive after what we did to him?" Taki wondered more to herself, though Sophitia heard her.

"Perhaps he never was." The blonde responded in a thoughtful tone. She turned to Taki, who looked at her slightly perplexed. Sophitia somewhat reluctantly mouthed the word 'Sylvanas.' Then, Taki's eyes widened and she turned back towards the water where Astaroth must have fallen. Sophitia and she had never seen him up front, like Kilik had. If he ever comes to, Sophitia knew they would have to ask him what he looked like - if he looked anything like Sylvanas.

"Well, he's gone now. And whether he makes it or not, he won't be able to live once he reaches the shores of Kalimdor." Sylarind informed simply.

"But doesn't the Orc Horde have ties with the undead?" Taki asked, wondering if the orcs will accept him and not harm him at all.

"They have ties with the Forsaken, but he was not of that race, but a minion of Arthas'. I saw the emblem of the Scourge on the side of the ship. Arthas is the enemy of all races." The night elf rider stated darkly. Just saying his name left a bad taste in her mouth. "But we don't have to worry about Astaroth now. I'll take you back to shore."

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'I must be coming closer now; the stone is trembling more violently with every step I take.' The hooded figure continued their way through the dense forest, a gemstone held tightly in their hand. 'She must be somewhere in this direction.' They fingered the rock-like gem in their hand. 'This stone had better prove its significance; I have worked too hard to gather the materials needed for that warlock to produce it.' They lifted the object up, gazing at its rough edges and purplish color. Their eyes widened as the stone began to faintly glow. 'Yes. She is nearby.' They eagerly continued in the same direction until the gem became bright enough to be a beacon and tremble so violently that it was hard to handle it.

Finally, behind a decomposing tree, another cloaked figure came into view. The other hidden stranger grinned

8

'Ah, midnight,' Sylvanas reflected, a slow smile growing on her face as her eyes swept through the darkness of the forest. 'My favorite time of day; not a soul is around to bother and all is silent apart from the winds and scattering rodents. Pity a graveyard isn't nearby; I would have felt more at home then.'

Her blood red eyes widened into alarm as she heard a heartbeat coming closer to her. 'Who…?' She quickly turned, her cloak fanning around her. At the sight of a grinning human and a rare gemstone in her hand, Sylvanas swiftly reached for her jagged-edged dagger sheathed behind her back. "Who are you?" She demanded the figure whose face was half-hidden beneath her hood. She managed to catch a quick glimpse of the gem before the intruder slipped it into a pouch at their belt. 'That stone… those stones were thought to be impossible to make…' Her red orbs drifted back up to the hooded figure's smile.

"My name is none of your concern." The stranger spoke confidently, making Sylvanas sneer.

"Do you have any idea who you're speaking to, _human_?" Her tone was venomous. She noticed that the stranger's voice was that of a female.

"Dark Lady Sylvanas, I presume?" The other didn't wait for an answer. "I've been looking for you. A word of caution, I come to give you."

"Word of caution?" Sylvanas hissed, now unsheathing her dagger. "How dare you speak to me so haughtily! You should be groveling on your knees, human! Do you know that the entire army of the Forsaken is under my hand?" She gripped her dagger tightly.

"It may not be that way much longer." The stranger interceded, the smile falling.

Sylvanas sped towards the other female and pressed the edge of her dagger to her neck, the dark blue light it glowed illuminated the throbbing pulse in the woman's throat. The stranger didn't seem to flinch nor try to stop her. Sylvanas brought her face close to the woman. "What is it you mean to tell me, human?" She whispered, her demonic voice menacing enough that it would have made any other man shudder. "That my influence and rule have fallen? You know nothing of the Forsaken, so why come here to lecture me about the status of my great city?"

The female breathed evenly, "Only because I know of another man who is trying to take your throne. So I suggest you leave this place and return back to that Undercity of yours." The stranger was slightly surprised and bewildered when Sylvanas remained silent and stationary. "Why are you here? What's keeping you here?"

Sylvanas almost replied with "That is none of your business" but stopped. She was actually curious as to what this human would think if she told her about her soul and Sophitia. "A human who came here to destroy this Soul Edge is supposedly trying to reclaim my soul. I want to see if this young blonde outlander lives up to her promise." Sylvanas felt something vaguely familiar about this woman and Sophitia and even Taki. Then she realized it. "You're an outlander as well. I can tell from your scent and aura."

"I am." The stranger spoke simply, though the fact that Sylvanas had figured it out as fast as she did wasn't what was bothering her. It was the outlander that Sylvanas described. 'A young blonde that's going out of her way to purify someone of the Undead…?' She knew a girl that was annoyingly overreaching like that. "Did she have a small sword and shield as weapons? Was her hair plaited?"

Sylvanas didn't move for a second as her eyes moved over the patch of darkness that covered this mysterious woman's eyes. "Yes, she did."

The woman's teeth clenched. "You dare choose to trust the words of that peasant girl over me?" She gritted her teeth in pain as the edge of Sylvanas' dagger cut the side of her face, tearing through part of her hood.

"_I trust no one!_" Sylvanas's Gutterspeak words came out like dripping venom.

The stranger was silent, spitting out blood that slipped from her cheek into her mouth. She had to make Sylvanas return to the Undercity! But how? The woman slowly turned back up into Sylvanas' blazing eyes, ignoring the feeling of warm droplets cascading down her neck from her cheek. "You won't leave until she returns with your soul, but does she have any idea how?"

Sylvanas' teeth were clamped together, still angered by this woman's words. "I doubt she does, but I will still wait." 'I find her motivation interesting to survey.' Sylvanas thought rather than stated, thinking about Sophitia.

'Then, I shall assist the little wench.' She though with a simple tone but with malevolent eyes as she turned back to the road. "So be it. I will not stop you then." She responded darkly.

As the woman retreated, Sylvanas felt something dark about this woman's aura; it was demonic, but in a way that she had never seen before. The scent of her blood… it was familiar yet not. In a flash, Sylvanas was in front of the mysterious woman. Her fingernail reached out and took a bit of the cloaked figure's blood. Ignoring the puzzled gaze she felt on her from underneath the hood of the other woman, she brought the drops of blood to her mouth. She expected a honey-like taste, something that all undead experience when they taste fresh blood. Instead, she found it to be bitter and very unappealing, even to the point where it tasted like a combination of gun powder and toxin.

"You are not like a normal human." Sylvanas stated, her eyes searching through the dark patch again. "You aren't undead - you have a heartbeat. And you are not a warlock - your blood is seems more pungent than theirs. Yet, you're blood… It is demonic…" Sylvanas looked at her with baffled crimson red eyes.

"I know." No pride came from the other woman's response. Her tone was unbiased. The cloaked figure walked around the Dark Lady, continuing back onto the road.

The undead queen could tell that this woman trusted only herself and no one else, much like Sylvanas herself. The stranger was an independent warrior. Sylvanas just kept her eyes on her until she was no longer in her sights.

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It was well into the night now, only a few more hours till dawn, and all three of the women were spent. They were thankful when they landed and even more thankful after Sylarind had guided them to an inn.

"This is the only area in which the Flight Master and the inn were close by, although it is very dangerous, at least to us Night Elves." Sylarind had explained as they came close to a region that had a curved shoreline. Ruined temples and aging ports dotted the brownish area. "This is Azshara, and enemies of the Night elves infest this land greatly. However, the inn I'm taking you to is close to the border of Ashenvale so our enemies will most likely not try to attack the encampment. If they do, you can either help fight, or run to the Ashenvale border. Sentinels will be there to protect you."

When they landed, Sylarind pointed them in the direction of the inn which, as assumed, was close by. The hippogryphs were taken by the Flight Master and seemed happy as they settled into their nest beds.

"I'll have to take Kilik to a more appropriate housing for him so that he can heal." Sylarind explained, staying on her hippogryph and holding an unmoving Kilik on the beast's back. "I was checking him on the way here and it appears that either he hit his head as he fell, or the shock of the cold water knocked him out." She looked at the small in, her eyes quickly scanned the area, perhaps looking for the dangerous creatures she had spoken of only moments before. I will come for you in the morning and take you back to Ashenvale. Until then" – Sylarind bowed gracefully on her hippogryph – "_Ishnu-ashka_." And she was off into the sky again.

When Sylarind was out of sight over the trees, they turned and headed towards the inn. Elves and humans walked in and out of the two-story inn, either buying food, ale, trading, or resting. Sophitia came up to the bearded bartender, who normally was innkeeper.

"How many rooms do you have left?" She asked, leaning against the edge of the bar. The night elven innkeeper just looked at her, his yellow taking in her features, then Taki's. He ran his hand through his long ocean-blue beard and went over to the side of the bar to see how many keys he had left. Taki suddenly became anxious.

He came back, the key to his side. "Just one." He handed her the large, rusted iron key which dangled from its equally rusted key ring. Sophitia took it. "Room number seventeen."

"Thank you." She spoke simply as she started towards the stairs. The innkeeper only murmured his response before attending to another customer.

Taki now felt quite nervous as she followed Sophitia. 'One room… for the two of us… how ironic.' Now she just prayed that the room didn't have a double-bed. They finally came to the room after walking down the creaky floors of the hallway and Sophitia opened it.

Taki quickly peeked inside and let out a sigh of relief; two twin beds. The surroundings didn't bother her; it was the typical Night Elf style. Everything was made out of wood, even the bowls for washing. The walls and support beams were colored with paint and repeating designs were etched in them. Bearskin covered the beds as blankets and what looked like the skin of some big cat like a tiger or a sabertooth was the only rug in front of the two beds. A nightstand with three newly-lit candles stood in between the two beds.

Sophitia strode in and tossed the key on the dresser opposite the nightstand and stiffly seated herself onto the bed furthest from the door. Taki watched as Sophitia seemed to watched her own fingers idly play with each other. "What's wrong?" She asked as she closed the door behind her and locked it.

"It still bothers me…" Sophitia started, not knowing how to continue for a second before she finally looked up. "Why doesn't Arthas just attack us? He knows we have Soul Edge. Wouldn't he try to get it back?" She continued after Taki shrugged before walking around to the other bed to seat herself across from Sophitia. "And he _must've_ turned Astaroth into the undead. I mean how else would Astaroth still walk the earth? But my only question is why?" She ran her fingers through her blonde bangs as the question mark over her head seemed to grow.

"Perhaps Arthas sent him to retrieve Soul Edge." It sounded more like a statement than a question. "Arthas didn't realize that he may get sidetracked, what with Kilik and everything else. And Astaroth isn't the type to follow orders, at least not anymore." Taki removed her sheathed swords from her back and her armor plates and laid them on the dresser next to the key.

Sophitia realized she had yet to shed her weapons and armor and quickly followed suit. She sighed. "No use thinking about it now, I suppose." She winced as she bent over to remove the covers. "I'm never using that Shield Bash so many times in a row again - my back is so sore."

Taki chuckled as she unwrapped the straps on her hands. "I'll bet. Mine's aching a little as well." She stepped closer to the edge of Sophitia's bed where the blonde sat, unlacing her tall boots. Green eyes looked up at her curiously. "Lay on your stomach when you're done." Taki answered the eyes.

Sophitia, surprised by what Taki seemed to imply what she might do, unlaced her boots faster and obliged to Taki's request. Taki was surprised at _herself_ as she leaned over Sophitia's frame, lifted the smaller girl's shirt up just a bit so that she lower back was exposed, and pressed her palms along the small of her back and spine.

Head resting on her arms, Sophitia pushed her face deeper into the pillow as Taki's caresses continued. She was _definitely_ surprised with this. At the third stroke of palms and thumbs against the muscles of her lower back, Sophitia finally moaned in her throat. "Mmm… You always did have incredible hands." Her eyes opened as she felt Taki tense and hesitate. She was going to tell her that it was okay and that she didn't mean anything by that, but Taki managed to continue without it. She was suddenly curious as to what it was that made Taki so bold. She thought it would take another whole week or more for Taki to feel ready enough to touch her in this simple way.

"Do you always stay in inns?" Taki suddenly asked.

"Whenever I'm able to… I just feel safer in inns than I do sleeping out in the wilderness." She answered simply, not minding that the question was a little general.

"It's the opposite for me. I choose wilderness over inns. I'll only stay in inns if absolutely necessary." Taki stated bluntly.

Sophitia was curious by this, the Taki she had known before had never told her this. "Really? Why?"

"People easily become suspicious of me since I always wear this mask when I come into towns. They think I'm a bandit or a rogue since they can't see my face. When I come into inns, innkeepers and customers think that I'll rob them. And even worse, they'll think I'm worth a bounty, so they'll either search "wanted" signs for my face or just _assume_ that I'm worth something and come after me." Taki explained with a thoughtful voice, as if she thought that no one else is listening and is just reflecting.

Sophitia just listened. This was all new information to her; she never knew that things like that ever happened to her. Of course, she always assumed that Taki's mysterious appearance would rouse suspicion, she never knew that it would rise to that magnitude.

Sophitia was quiet for a small moment. "Maybe it's because either no one seems to look passed your mask nor want to, or it's because you refuse to let them in." She was silent for another second; she didn't know if it would be right for her to continue but ultimately felt that she should. "Perhaps you already know this Taki, but…" – she took a breath to calm her heart that begun to ache – "I want you to let me in." It came out as a whisper, but Taki heard it clearly.

The demon huntress hesitated. "I… I know."

"Then why won't you?" Sophitia began to feel tears form in her eyes as her tone accidentally sounded demanding.

"Because I'm afraid of something happening," Taki took a breath of her own. "I'm afraid that once I have you in my heart, I'm afraid that something will…" She tried to force herself to continue but found that she couldn't. She bit her lip.

'She's afraid of losing me, afraid of the pain of losing me.' Sophitia immediately turned over on the bed to look up at Taki. She looked deep into the mahogany eyes that gazed down at her. She took Taki's waist between her hands, holding her there. They were both silent for a moment until Sophitia finally spoke, her voice cracking. "Do you want to be loved, Taki?"

Taki didn't move, only breathed. After a few seconds that felt like hours, the older girl softly, numbly nodded.

Sophitia bit her lip to keep her tears from falling. "You know that I've been, and still am, in love with you, but do you actually know why?" Taki shook her head, never taking her eyes off of the aventurine. "You've told me before that you never thought that there would be anything in you worth loving all because you hunt demons. But do you realize that that is what I love most about you?" When Taki looked down at her with perplexity in her eyes, the blonde brought herself up on her elbows. "You're different from anyone else that I've met. You're fascinating to me. And it's not just because you are a demon huntress; there are other things about you that are hard to find in other people I've known." She could no longer hold back her tears and she didn't move to dry them as her voice begun to cling to desperation. "Taki, you made me feel like I was much more than a baker's daughter. You made my life richer. I couldn't stand life without you when I was alone. I want you with me"-

"Then take it off." Taki interceded. Sophitia noticed that her eyes looked deeper than ever before.

"What?" Sophitia knew what Taki meant, but she could hardly believe her ears. The older girl's hands moved to Sophitia's face, her thumbs brushing her tears away. Then her hands went to the blonde's and brought them up to her mask.

"Take it off. Please." Taki's voice became a whisper as she stared deep into Sophitia's aventurine eyes. "Show me how great your feelings are for me."

Sophitia refused to look away from Taki's wonderfully deep mahogany eyes as she slowly curled her fingers inside the Asian woman's mask. She gently peeled it down, almost gasping when full red lips came into view. She couldn't help but run her thumb along those lips, her gaze growing hazy just at the sight of them and she new it wasn't just because of the tears that had flooded her eyes.

Sighing, the dark-haired girl let the finger caress her lips. It was only then that she realized how dark the room truly was. She felt her heart beat faster when she saw the want, the need in the other girl's eyes. Then, she felt Sophitia's thumb and forefinger take her chin. As Sophitia leaned towards her, she felt another force push her closer to the younger girl. When a hot breath caressed her lips, her vision became cloudy, forcing her to close them. Before she could wonder what was happening, a warm softness touched her lips. She gasped as rippling chills fell through her body to her fingertips and toes. It frightened her yet comforted her at the same time.

Sophitia was barely able to stifle her moan. Her arm wrapped around Taki's neck while the other snaked around her side, feeling the contours of her body. She heard Taki quickly intake a breath as she pressed closer and leaned back down onto the bed. She stroked her back to reassure her; Taki relaxed, and wrapped her arms around Sophitia's waist in return. It felt odd to have somebody's body pressed so close, but it felt soft and comfortable as well, something that she could just fall right into.

The Grecian nearly felt like she was going to faint when she felt Taki's arms gently wrap around her. She ran her hand through the loose strands of soft black hair as she caressed an ivory-skinned cheek. It was becoming difficult to control her desires as she parted her lips only to capture Taki's again. The Asian tried to follow, caressing her lips in turn, feeling her nose brush against the other girl's cheek. She was happy that Sophitia was keeping it slow for her, even though it had a sensual edge to it as well. Her heart pounded so hard she didn't know if she could breathe properly. She made her hands caress the younger girl's back, as Sophitia was doing to her. When she heard the blonde girl unconsciously moan, she almost did the same but only shuddered as she held herself back, fearing she would show too much of herself and what she was feeling if she did.

Sophitia tried not to whimper as Taki pulled away; she had wanted a little more of her. When she reached up to place gentle kisses along her neck, Taki gasped and retreated even further. Sophitia looked up at her, concerned. "Taki? What's the matter?" She asked gently, gliding her hand up and down her side.

"Too much," Taki silently heaved, her heart still hammering in her chest. "It would be too fast for me. I'm not used to this." She explained, looking down into deep ocean-green eyes sympathetically.

Sophitia nodded. "That's okay." As Taki's eyes became distant as she looked away, Sophitia felt fear rising in her chest. "If you're regretting it"-

"I'm not." Taki answered quickly as her eyes snapped back to Sophitia, only to quickly become distant again.

When Taki remained silent, Sophitia spoke. "Good." She then noticed that Taki was looking over at the other bed. She sighed silently. "You'll probably feel better if you sleep in your own bed." She suggested with a sadness that she tried to contain.

"No."

Sophitia looked up at the lean figure above her, stunned yet unsure as to what Taki might be thinking.

"I…" Taki looked down, her eyes deep and sincere yet at the same time hopeful in their own way. "I want to stay." With that, Taki pulled back the covers and settled herself on the side closest to the nightstand. Sophitia, smiling, moved behind her, not at all minding that Taki was facing away from her. Taki didn't move as an arm slipped lightly around her waist, a body pressing lightly against her backside.

When she felt Sophitia settle beneath the covers, Taki quietly leaned up and blew out the candles, darkness enveloping the room.

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The cloaked stranger pushed open the doors to the tavern open. The morning sun was just beginning to set the skies ablaze with different colors of light and she was back in Stormwind, Lorderon. It had been a long, aggravating night of travel from Ashenvale to where she was now – a boat ride and a few hippogryph and gryphon rides worth of traveling. If everyone around her wanted to live, they should not bother her.

The innkeeper was asleep in one of the wooden chairs by the fire. The bags of gold, silver, and copper coins and the slip of parchment and quill beneath his hand said that he fell asleep while calculating his profits. Having not a scrap of patience left, she strode over to him and jabbed his arm with her fingernail. He winced as his light green eyes fluttered awake.

"Ale." Was the woman's only word, staring coldly down at the keeper. Slightly frightened, the keeper quickly got out of his chair and went over to the brown barrel with a wooden mug in hand.

The woman walked over and roughly pulled out a stool, elegantly seated herself, and removed her hood. She ran her fingers through her short platinum hair, her icy blue eyes closing for a brief second. Ivy was slightly appalled at herself for choosing a beer instead of her normal red wine, but after feeling the state of her own exhausted body, she really didn't care. It would only be for this one time.

The innkeeper handed her the foaming mug. His eyes widened in shock when he saw her face. "Hey Madam, you best get that cut healed up at the magic ward here in Stormwind."

Ivy took a swig of the ale before her eyes locked with his. "I plan to, thank you." Her tone was that of a snarl. She took another sip, enjoying the thickness of the beverage as well as its slightly bitter taste. "How much do I owe you?"

"Eighteen silver, Madam." He stood still and just watched as his first customer reached into another, thicker pouch at her belt. She pulled out the required amount and placed it in a pile on the table. The expensiveness didn't bother her. "You looked like you needed a strong one." He added as he pulled the coins into his hand.

Ivy's eyes snapped up to his and, for a second, the keeper thought that she was about ready to kill him. Much to his surprise, Ivy reached into her bag again and pulled out two more silver, tossing them on the counter. "For your hardship," Now, he wasn't sure whether this woman was being honest or sarcastic. Either way, he took the tip.

"Thank you, Madam." He mumbled and quickly went back to his chair, placing the coins into his bag.

Ivy took another swig before she took out a black handkerchief from her brassiere and wiped her neck free of the blood then pressed it against her cheek. The cut wasn't too deep but it stung like hell. She just managed to turn her head at the right moment but that didn't stop the blade from piercing her. She had questioned bringing out her Ivy Blade - which hung at her side beneath her cloak - but she decided against it; she wasn't looking for a battle.

Though, right now, she felt like throwing her mug against the wall. Sylvanas's decision just made things a hell of a lot harder for her. 'Souls… souls… where in bloody hell will I be able to find lore about souls! Finding Sylvanas was hard enough, starting with infiltrating the Undercity…' Ivy thought as she took a larger sip than before and recollected….

Ivy nearly wretched at the horrid smell of the sewers she forced herself to creep through. It was the only entranceway that didn't have guards, and therefore, the safest way in. She had been following Cervantes ever since he stepped foot in this strange new world. She was puzzled when he actually entered the gates of this ruined city.

Although slightly shocked and somewhat freighted when she first saw the walking undead, she no longer felt any danger from them now. From what she had seen in the towns around the 'Undercity', their skills were mediocre.

The only thing she knew, as she was stepping through the slimy sewers, is that undead warriors within the depths of this demonic city might be quite a bit more experienced at battle. Other undead beings that she knew she had to evade were the spell-casters – dark priests and warlocks. Magic was something that she might not be able to protect herself against.

She understood that coming to the Undercity is a fatal decision for humans, but, she came prepared for that: Before she came, she had gathered all the supplies she could get to protect herself against the undead and to scale the Undercity without being detected. Being an elite chemist and with the help of the very few willing mages and warlocks in Stormwind, she also decided to come up with a few potions of her own.

She had heard rumors about the Undercity while in Stormwind. She had mentioned her making a 'visit' there to a sailor that had tried (and failed) to sweet-talk her. Unfortunately, other people in the tavern had heard her. "The Undercity! You might as well commit suicide if you're planning to go there!" One older man that sat next to her had told her.

Then, other people started explaining the rumors they had heard: "I heard they conduct experiments on live humans, turning them into beasts and rodents!" "I heard that they take the flesh of several corpses and mold them into one mindless Abomination! A fellow I knew wrote to me that he had to fight against one of those creatures in Duskwood, southwest of here, and was nearly cleaved in half!" "I heard that they not only take live humans but the undead of the Scourge they held captive and, without armor or even proper weapons, toss them one by one into a ring against well-equipped Forsaken soldiers and fight!" "I heard that undead priests hypnotize humans and use them as servants and pets!"

Finally Ivy had had enough and left to build any potions she had the ability to create as well as collect any rings that may empower her in any way. She knew darkness well and she didn't need to hear it from them.

Her mission at that time was to see if there was any way to make sure that Cervantes doesn't claim the throne to the Undercity. She didn't care for the undead – it was the growth of Cervantes' power that she feared.

She had made it to the end of the sewers and to the inside of the great city. The walls and ceilings were decorated with fanged skulls, cages (some of which that held live humans that shook with fear), chains, blood red flags, and the emblem of the Forsaken. She ignored the chills that this demonic ambience utilized. She was plenty used to such darkness, she had Cervantes to thank for that.

Using her potions, Ivy managed to evade the detection of the other undead guards. Dusty books with rotting pages and covers were stacked on tables. Realizing that this may give her a few hints as to how the Undercity was formed and maintained, she read the covers of each one until she found one entitled "Sylvanas Windrunner, The Banshee Queen."

She skimmed the pages, finding out that this 'Sylvanas' was now the queen of all of the Forsaken. 'Surely once this 'Sylvanas' realizes her city is in danger of being overthrown, she will want to come back and destroy Cervantes for trying to steal her throne.' She had thought. Of course, she lamented the idea of someone else killing Cervantes - for she really wanted to be the one to slit his throat - but she had no choice.

Getting back out was where she nearly died – She was running out of time for her potions before she was even able to get back to the sewers. More guards were beginning to notice her heartbeat and smell the scent of a still-fresh body. She didn't mind using her ivy-blade against them, but she knew that if she stopped and fought, there would have been too many to fight at one time.

This was about a month before. The month after that, she searched all of Kalimdor and Lorderon for the ingredients needed to create the gem that was still in its pouch. More scars and bruises came from both wilderness and battle as she searched.

Now, finding out that she had even more work she had to do made her want to go on her own rampage of destruction. She hoped the ale would numb that and that was why she was secretly thankful that the innkeeper decided to give her a strong one.

She lowered the mug onto the table again. Stormwind was at least calming – cities like this calmed her in a certain way that places like Ashenvale never could. It reminded her of London; she felt more at home here.

"A-are you planning to rent a room here, Madam?" The innkeeper suddenly yet carefully called from his chair, as if saying a word to the woman-with-a-short-fuse might be his last.

Ivy didn't turn, exhaustion started to settle in her eyes. "Yes." It came out as a sigh. She ignored the fact that she was appalled again at her own actions – sleeping during the day, how inappropriate of a grown noblewoman! "But, as you suggested, I'll need to have this healed." She felt her nerves beginning to calm as she spoke, the idea of rest becoming more and more appealing. She removed the handkerchief from her cheek and strode towards the door. "Just give me one of the available rooms with a single bed and have it cleaned and made ready before I return." She instructed as she pushed through the door and stepped onto the cobblestone road.

"Y-yes… Madam…" Cleaning the room wasn't normally part of the job description, at least for this innkeeper, but somehow he got the impression that he didn't have a choice.

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Taki couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept for most of the night. It bothered her, though not in a bad way. She didn't regret what she had done; she only wondered what it was that made her want Sophitia to take her mask off and kiss her. She wondered why she had leaned in to kiss her while the blonde did the same. Why couldn't she have just let Sophitia come to her? Why did she want to kiss the younger girl so badly?

Then, she remembered what Sophitia had said; about her wanting to take a deeper look inside the demon huntress and the tears of desperation and heartache that came from her eyes. She wanted to know her, even though she already did. She wanted the huntress to know that someone else cared for her very deeply, something that the normally lone huntress hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

The sweetness of Sophitia's kiss came back to her senses and she had to hold back a moan. Her fingers curled to clutch the pillow tightly for a moment, thinking about how it felt to hold another person in her arms while that someone did the same to her.

She couldn't help but smile when she heard Sophitia shift and murmur behind her, her face pressing into Taki's neck. Taki felt pleasant tremors gliding down her back as Sophitia's breath caressed her nape.

Brown eyes turned to the window to see the sun dripping through the curved windowsill onto the floor. She knew that when Sylarind said 'morning', she meant early. She turned onto her back and looked back over to Sophitia only to find smiling aventurine eyes gazing into hers.

Taki froze and held her breath as Sophitia leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Taki's. Her breath came out in a long sigh. Her skin tingled and she didn't know why. "We have to get up, don't we?" Sophitia asked as they broke apart. Taki nodded, her eyes not leaving the Grecian's. "I don't want to move." She stated, her arm wrapping tightly around Taki's waist.

"We don't have a choice." Taki responded lightly. As much as she hated to admit it, or even feel it, she wanted to separate from the beautiful girl next to her. She was still new to this kind of contact, and she didn't know precisely how to handle it yet. But she promised Sophitia, and herself, that she would still try.

Sophitia nodded and pulled away, slowly removing herself from the covers and going back over to the dresser to replace her armor and weapons. Taki silently followed. Wordlessly, both went down to the main room of the inn, paid the innkeeper, and went back out to where Sylarind had left them.

While waiting, Sophitia seated herself on a nearby wooden fence by a road sign that pointed in three different directions. Taki stood at the other end of the dirt road, arms crossed and eyes sweeping through the half-bare trees, ruined columns of temples and shrines and dry grounds.

"Taki," Sophitia's soft voice came, making Taki stiffen now and the blonde girl noticed this. Taki turned only her neck and back around, her eyes slightly unreadable. "Taki, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Taki's response was too simple and quick for Sophitia's liking. She knew that the kiss had brought Taki to unease.

"Taki, it's not like lovemaking." She somewhat regretted saying the last word as it made Taki stiffen again and seem even more bothered by it. "It was just a simple kiss."

Taki then turned away, her eyes unseeingly scanning the trees again. "It wasn't _just_ a simple kiss to me."

Sophitia caught the hurt in her voice. Not bearing to know that she had hurt Taki's already-tender heart, she went to her and wrapped her arms around her from behind. She leaned her head against the taller woman's back. "That's not what I mean and you know that." She rubbed her forehead against Taki's shoulder. "I love you." When Taki remained silent, she then realized her next challenge: getting Taki to say "I love you" in return and as to say it as freely as she had done before.

Then she felt Taki laid her hand upon one of the Grecian's. She felt a thumb caress the back of her hand. Sophitia smiled and closed her eyes; that was enough. Then she felt Taki turn in her arms and felt a hand lay on the back of the blonde's neck, pulling her closer. Slightly stunned, she watched the deep brown gaze on her own green eyes as Taki pulled her to her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut, sighing. Oh yes, this was more than enough.

Sophitia had to lay a hand on Taki's shoulder to steady herself as she already felt dizzy from the long-awaited warmth of the older girl's kiss. For a kiss to come from her was even sweeter to her than the one she had given the huntress last night. She felt Taki's heart thunder against her chest. She wondered if Taki would keep her mask off from now on. She smiled against Taki's lips at the thought.

It only when they heard a flapping of large wings that Taki finally broke away. Then, Sophitia realized yet another challenge: get Taki to be comfortable enough to kiss her in public. That she could wait for, however.

Taki felt a chill slide up her back, it wasn't pleasant. It was familiar in a way, but different in another. Though her lips stayed on Sophitia's she opened her eyes, the brown orbs turning to the corner of her eye. The creature, whatever it was, was coming closer – she could feel it as the cold tremors up her back slowly increased in magnitude.

Sophitia felt the other girl stiffen. She opened her eyes just in time to see brown eyes go wide in alarm. Taki pulled apart and roughly pushed her to one side. She watched as Taki, like a flash, unsheathed one of her blades and slashed it upwards as what looked like a phantom came to her. The specter flew to one side, dodging her.

When Sophitia took a closer look as the phantom stood still, she noticed that the phantom had the body and appearance of Sharlindra; banshee-like. The only thing that looked different about her was simply her attire and the particular color of her eyes, which was close to teal. Her dark blue gown and silver sash was torn at the ends and had holes. The only form of protection she had her black, worn gauntlets at her arms.

The phantom hissed, her fangs easy to find as they were tainted with blood. Her long, thin nails came at Taki's face again as she flew passed. Taki did a full-twisting-layout high over her, effectively dodging her. The phantom flew into the bare trees and vanished, yet Taki remained in her guarding position, completely still.

Sophitia took a step towards her and was about to speak when Taki silenced her with a finger, not looking at her. "The demon's still near." Taki whispered, sheathing her blade only for the specter's eyes since she knew the phantom was still watching. "Stay back. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sophitia tightened the straps on her shield, though her eyes remained on Taki. She couldn't help thinking that this was a perfect example for what she loved about Taki when she hunted. She was like a heron in a pond searching for her prey, especially in the way that she would remain completely motionless yet her eyes would always be on the watch for glimpses of that prey. She would have to tell Taki that later if the huntress still didn't find her occupation and fighting style admirable.

It was quiet, but Taki still felt the specter and she only had to wait. Leaves from high in the trees rustled as the phantom flew down from above, her fangs bared and ready to sink into flesh. Taki removed both of her blades and waited for her prey to come to her. When she was only a foot away, Taki raised them and pounced forward, slamming both her blades through the phantom's stomach then tore them out at both of her sides. She only gasped in pain, but didn't retreat.

The specter flew high into another tree and stood on its limb. She turned pointed a long nail at Taki. "Death shall come to you soon." Her voice was like a low, whispering moan

"Your return to the afterlife will come sooner." Taki stated as she confidently leapt into the trees after the phantom. The phantom lunged at Taki, both of her clawed hands reaching for her flesh. Taki fanned her blades as she managed to cut off one of the hands and dodged the other. She watched as the hand burst into flames on its way to the ground below. The flames ate the hand as quickly as they would a dry leaf.

Taki looked up just in time to see the banshee clutch her hand and scream in agony. Taki's vision fuzzed horribly and her head pounded painfully as she covered her ears from the sound, leaving her stunned for a few seconds as the painful echoing continued to spin her world. When she pulled up her eyes, she screamed as she felt the nails of the banshee's other hand plunge deep into the flesh of the right side of her chest.

She felt the nails dig deeper and she tried to hold back her cries. Taki saw the bloodlust and rage in the banshee's teal eyes. She quickly caught the banshee's wrist and brought up her small sword. She looked the phantom in the eye despite the dizziness she felt. "Begone demon." She slashed her sword through the specter's neck. The gap she created fluttered like the phantom's torn garments and her eyes widened in horror. She let out a muffled screech as the rest of her body tore away from her neck and a blue light came from the center of her body. The light slowly rose to the sky and vanished to the ground while the banshee's silver sash drifted down and the arm guards plummeted and clashed as they landed.

Sophitia walked toward the tree Taki stood on, her eyes watching her with worry. Taki was holding her head and swaying. Taki managed to jump from limb to limb - although a little shakily - until she landed onto a limb that was just three feet from the ground. From there, she just looked like she was about to collapse onto the ground below her before Sophitia ran forth and caught her.

"Taki, are you alright?" The younger girl asked as she held her, feeling the other woman trying not to lean all her weight on her. She gasped as she caught the runnels of blood that fell from her chest. Her heart pounded even more when she noticed that green liquid was at the holes. She was poisoned, but she didn't know in what way.

"I'm fine." The response was absentminded as if waving the question away. "Just a little dizzy." She shut her eyes tightly, chiding herself. "Damn, I shouldn't have let that happen. I'm better than that!" She sounded as though she deserved some sort of punishment for her mistake.

"It's okay." Sophitia spoke as calmly and a softly as she could to ease the other woman even though her heart was frantic with worry. She had never been so happy yet frightened when she heard a distant flapping of large wings approaching.

"What happened?" Sylarind asked in alarm when she saw Taki sitting on her knees in the leaf covered woods near the crossroads.

"A banshee of some sort attacked us." Sophitia explained as Sylarind checked Taki's condition more thoroughly, finding her face pallid now. "Taki vanquished her, but..."

"I see she's suffering from a close-range banshee cry." Sylarind easily deduced. "A banshee's cry can stun a person like that, though when it is done close to a mortal's ear, it can almost be fatal. But from what I can tell, it's nothing too serious. For this poison, however," – she pointed at the green liquid intermingling with Taki's blood. She turned to Sophitia with intend, starlit eyes, her leaf-green hair falling forward over her shoulders. – "What did the banshee look like?"

"Dark blue gown and silver sash, and she had teal eyes." Sophitia recalled quickly, her heart beating faster by the second with distress but tried to stay calm to Taki's sake.

Sylarind looked back down at the wound on her chest. "That's typical attire for a Lost Specter. Their nails are poisonous." The night elf was silent for a second as she contemplated. "I'll have to take her to Darnassus to get her healed properly; their medicine and magic update faster than the rest of the regions held by Night Elves; Azshara only has antidotes for poisons against the _other_ enemies here." She stated as though not willing to even speak the name of her enemies, she hated them so. "It's rare for a banshee like that to come out of her resting place."

"She's going to be alright though, right?" Sophitia tried to contain the frantic worry in her voice. She couldn't stand for another relapse of Taki's suffering again, not when she was so close. Why did everything seem to happen to only Taki? Why couldn't she be attacked and injured? She'd gladly do it for Taki.

"She's going to be fine. This kind of attack is minor compared to others. It's just the poison we have to get rid of, and this type of poison is slow-moving." She paused to make sure that Sophitia took it all in. She was about to speak again when she was interrupted by the woman Sophitia held onto.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Taki spoke, agitated. She shifted from the Grecian's grasp. "I'm fine. It's not like I can't walk." Taki tried to prove her point by walking to were the other hippogryphs were stabled. She could walk, but she seemed to have some trouble balancing herself. Sophitia went up to her and brought Taki's arm around her shoulder for support.

"How's your chest?" Sophitia asked lightly, her eyes intently watching the side of Taki's face for any signs of pain.

Taki winced slightly. "It stings a bit, and it feels like it's throbbing, but that's it." Sophitia could tell she was trying to sound as though it wasn't bothering her even though it was.

"It'll get worse if we don't treat it quickly." Sylarind stated as she quickly went to retrieve the worn gauntlets and white sash nearby. "Do you wish to come as well, or do you want to stay in Ashenvale?" She asked Sophitia as they helped Taki mount her hippogryph.

"I want to go with Taki." Sophitia replied without hesitation. But then, she realized something: what about Sylvanas? Sophitia inwardly sighed as she watched Sylarind nod and take Taki to her hippogryph. How was Sylvanas and she going to stay in contact? How would she be able to tell her? She couldn't let her think she had forgotten her. Sophitia took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She wished caring for people wouldn't be so difficult.

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Sorry if the fight scene between Astaroth and Kilik wasn't very good, I never was very good at fight scenes. But yep! I finally made Sophie and Taki kiss! It won't take much longer for the yuri to show up now! lol, hope it was all okay and that you liked the chapter. I'm okay about it but I'd love to hear what you all think.


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